Your happiness above all, even mine
by 116788
Summary: Modern AU. -She nuzzled her face in the crook of Elsa's neck, the blonde smelled delicious. She smelled like a fresh afternoon breeze. Like a sunset after a gorgeous day. Like a new bought sketchbook. Like perfection. If there was a heaven, this was how it would feel like, Anna decided. And it was all she ever needed.-
1. Chapter I

**Hey guys,  
A new story of mine. I've based this on things that have happened or are happening in my life. So I speak from experience ;) Anyways, I always loved the relationship between Elsa and Anna and I wanted to explore it in a different way. So yes, this is an Elsanna but it hasn't got any lemons or anything in it, as that's not the important message of the story.  
** **Anyways, I hope you have fun reading it.**

 **Greetings, 116788**

* * *

Chapter 1. 'Not that I _don't_ want to date you cause I totally do.'

* * *

Annabeth Sarah Mason, or in short Anna, was a girl who liked the colour green and orange and who's favourite word was pineapple, even though she disliked the fruit with all her being.

She was a girl with beautiful emerald green eyes and an infectious smile. Along with her beautiful face full of freckles belonged red hair that she mostly wore in pigtails. But there was more to say about her. She was social, kind and a little bit awkward at times. She bubbly, optimistic and very, _very_ chatty. She had always been like that, it was her nature. Whenever she saw people, she knew she just had to talk to them. Oh, she could talk all day about almost everything. She was not being an annoying little brat who needed to brag about her accomplishments, she was an honest person who genuinely liked the presence of other people. And that was maybe why she had a lot of good friends surrounding her.

Her childhood had also helped a lot in becoming who she was. She had a carefree childhood, allowed to play with anyone she desired. Her parents weren't home often but when they were, they tried to make it the best time. They often had pillow fights, fashion contests and bike races around the neighbourhood. Anna's dad would take her out fishing, swimming and rowing. They would walk for hours, chatting and laughing. He showed her how to dissect frogs and rabbits. He taught her everything he knew about the human body, her only being six or seven. Her father was the best and Anna loved him with all her heart. Anna's mother mostly took her out for shopping, go seeing movies and bake cakes. They cuddled on the couch, talked about cute boys and did each other's hair. She was the best cook there was and the sweetest mom in the world. She was supportive and optimistic, she was great.

Even though Anna was an only child, she had never felt really lonely. When her parents would work after school, Anna would mostly go to a friend's house. Her best friend was Kristoff. He was a great blonde guy with a lot of dry humour that attracted Anna. He was kind hearted and always helped her whenever she screwed up. Their relationship was built on years of trust, mutual respect and loyalty. They had met when Kristoff moved into the house next door, both at age three. They went to school together, sat together during lunch and even studied together.

But to all good things comes an end and that was when Kristoff decided to study art and Anna decided to study biology, influenced by her dad. Although they still got to see each other in the hallways, and spent lunch with each other as much as their schedule allowed, they started to drift apart. But being an optimist, Anna knew that someday, their friendship would blossom again and so she let Kristoff go to spend time with his new friends. But Anna couldn't deny the feeling of hurt every time she saw him hanging out with the guys. She felt jealous. Once, she was part of his world, part of his life. And now he just moved on. She felt rejected somehow, she knew it wasn't his fault. Their ways just separated at some point. They couldn't be with each other forever anyways. Their strong bond would hold, for now.

* * *

The first year of her new university went by and Anna managed to drag herself through all the tests and presentations. She did fairly well and her parents were proud of her. And by the end of spring and the beginning of summer, she proudly presented Kristoff her paper that said she was a sophomore now. He smiled and congratulated her, showing his as well. They hugged and toasted. But Anna felt a distance, something that hadn't been there before. And she was proven right when a beautiful brunette walked up to her best friend, kissing him on the lips and holding his muscular arm. He introduced her as Giselle, a Spanish girl who also studied art. Anna tried to keep herself straight and shook hands, saying it was her pleasure to meet her best friend's girlfriend. Then they started kissing awkwardly and Anna pulled a grossed out face.

She walked off, feeling ignored and rejected. She turned around one last time and saw Kristoff and Giselle making out like their life depended on it, Anna felt downright miserable. Way to go, her last goodbye image was of them doing that disgusting kiss !

He had indeed moved on.

She went into summer vacation with her mind elsewhere. She did her part time job emotionless and cried many nights in her bed, alone. Her parents tried to sooth her, telling her it was perfectly normal for people to lose someone they held close. But they never told her how much it hurt, seeing someone else happy without you while once, you were that part of happiness for them.

The second year of biology came and Anna felt depressed for the first couple of weeks. Having a few friends to hang out with, she didn't seem to enjoy it as their conversations were empty and meaningless. She started looking around the university some more, strolling by herself through the gardens and long hallways. It was only then that she saw a certain lonely figure, hunched over by a big oak tree. As Anna got closer, she got better sight of who this person was.

It was a girl.

She looked like she was reading a book intensely. Her face was in utter concentration as her mouth was slightly pursed. Black glasses stood steady on her slender nose bridge, making her gorgeous icy blue eyes stand out even more. Her dark eyebrows were frowning constantly and a loose strand of blonde hair fell in her face. She was wearing a light after summer dress with on top a white cardigan. The rest of her pale hair was bundled in a loose French braid. Right next to the girl laid her bag and a notebook. It was open and the pages danced as the wind touched them. It seemed like the girl didn't care about her surroundings, she was so focussed on her book. The wind grew harder and the notebook flew a couple of inches away. It stopped at Anna's feet. Anna bent over to grab it. It was a small notebook with a hard black cover. The first couple of pages were full of texts and scribbles. The handwriting was small and neat. Anna looked over at the girl to see if she had noticed her missing notebook. But the girl was still reading so Anna guessed she didn't. She took a deep breath and walked towards the tree with the girl. Anna's shadow startled the girl as she looked up with a frightened face. The redhead smiled, showing the girl she meant no harm.

"I believe this notebook is yours ?" she said as she stuck out her hand containing the little black book.

The girl nodded and extended her arm to take the book back.

"I really like your handwriting, it's so neat ! Wish mine was a little like yours, I mean have you seen mine ? Ever ?! It's like the ugliest. Teachers always comment on that whenever they mark my tests. I know they mean well but I can't help, we have to write really fast you know and I just have so much to say in so little time !" Anna rambled, unaware of the unease of the other girl. "Oh my goodness, where are my manners. I am Anna." She pointed to herself. "What's your name ?"

The other girl bit her lower lip, which Anna found adorable. Wait, what ?

"I'm Elsa," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Anna's eyes lit up. "That's such a beautiful name !" It really was.

Elsa beamed and smiled shortly. Then, she snapped out of it. She stuffed the notebook and her reading book in her bag and stood up. It wasn't until now that Anna realised how tall the girl really was. Elsa stood about three inches taller than she was. The dress ended just above her knee caps, and Anna was jealous of the girl's long, smooth legs. She is _gorgeous_ , Anna thought dreamily. Shocked of her own thoughts, Anna's head shot up, causing her to lose balance and twist her ankle awkwardly.

"Ouch shit !" she cursed under her breath as she rubbed her hurting ankle.

Elsa exclaimed in shock. "A-a are you alright ?" she asked softly while her hand covered her mouth. Anna caught herself staring at the girl and instantly forgetting about her pain. She stood up quickly and brushed off the invisible dust from her jeans.

"Uhm, yeah it's fine, it's just that I'm... I'm awkward and you're gorgeous !" Anna realised she'd said it out loud.

Elsa blinked in surprise.

"NO !" Anna shouted, Elsa frowned. This isn't good either, Anna thought. "It's just, I don't think you're gorgeous. Well you are but not, you know romantically. Like that I want to date you. Not that I _don't_ want to date you cause I totally do- Wait, what ?!" she blurted out. This was not going to get any better, she decided to put an end to this conversation. "I think I should go. I'm gonna go. I really should get going."

She turned around and walked away. But then she realised that Elsa was still standing there and that she couldn't leave her without a proper goodbye. So she turned around again and waved her hand shortly and awkwardly. "Bye !"

And she dashed away.

* * *

The next time Anna saw Elsa again was in the hallways during lunch. Her class just finished with their third period and was heading off to the cafeteria to get some snacks. She was talking to a student when she noticed the signature pale French braid of Elsa walking a few feet in front of her. Anna had decided that when she were to meet Elsa again, she would apologise for her rude behaviour. So when Elsa was right there, in front of her nose, Anna decided to give it a go.

"Hey Elsa !" she said cheerily, expecting Elsa to turn around and greet her as cheerily back but she didn't. Well, Elsa did turn around, no she jerked around, as if someone tried to shoot her with a gun. The expression on her face said Anna enough, she looked _terrified_.

"Elsa ?" Anna asked confused, she looked around to see if there was anything that could have scared the girl but when she didn't, she turned back to where Elsa used to stand. Used to. She had disappeared somehow in utter silence. Anna frowned. She never did not apologise to people when she had done something wrong, so Elsa was no different. She would not let Elsa off the hook until she got to show the girl that Anna was perfectly capable of being normal.

A few weeks went by and Elsa didn't show up in the hallways. Anna decided to ask around if people knew who and where and who she was since she didn't even know her last name. She knew that Elsa probably was the only one with such pale hair, besides, Elsa stood out of the crowd easily. Her gorgeous appearance and perfect grades didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Some of them referred to her as the Snow Queen since she never spoke to anyone and emitted such coldness that people preferred to stay away from her most of the time.

"You mean that pale girl with the braid ?" A sly, cocky guy with auburn hair asked. He smirked. "That Ice Bitch would freeze anyone within her reach."

Anna gave him a glare that shut him up. "Elsa is not a bitch ! You don't know her so don't judge."

Stupid Hans Westerguard, with his stupid sideburns. From what Anna heard, he liked to bully Elsa. Now, bullying was a bit childish but really, he bullied her and wasn't ashamed of admitting it either. Anna was determined to stop it, because Elsa already looked so fragile that she was gonna break anytime soon, and she really didn't want Hans to see that happen as he would only make more fun of the blonde. So, she had already made plans to try to keep Hans as far away as possible. And she would succeed, no matter how or what.

Anna decided to ask further. Some students told her that Elsa was the best of her class, breaking the university's record and that she would most likely would graduate in less than two years from now. When Anna asked which major she did, the answer was, surprisingly, biology, second year. Elsa had the same major as she did and yet she never noticed her in her classes. Maybe because Elsa was a really silent and introvert girl, she could easily go unnoticed. Or maybe that was because there were four classes majoring in biology.

It turned out, after stalking Elsa on the school's website, that Elsa's full name was Elisabeth Marian Anderson. Anna smiled, she really liked the name Elisabeth. But besides that, Elsa was in class 23Gb while Anna was in 21Gb. Anna smirked while she printed out Elsa's schedule, so what if she was a stalker, she had a strange feeling that she was drawn to the Snow Queen for some reason. Besides, she wasn't stalking the girl, she was _investigating_ , she thought smart. She needed to get to know the girl somehow, she seemed interesting to Anna. That poor girl seemed so sad and lonely, those lips pursed and her shoulders hunched forward. She looked so lifeless and it saddened the red head. She didn't like it when people weren't really alive, life was too short, they should enjoy it !

The best thing that Anna had noticed, when she had been talking to Elsa, was that the girl's facial expression had changed, even though it had been really tiny. The way her eyes had lit up, when Anna had told her that her name was beautiful, had touched Anna's heart. Elsa had smiled, she had beamed at the compliment that was given to her ! And she was so beautiful when she smiled.

Her big eyes were framed in Anna's memory. So gorgeous and intimidating. So big and beautiful. But even though she appeared to be ok, her eyes betrayed her true self: a lonely girl with so much to give but no one wants to receive. Well, Anna will. She will receive whatever Elsa has to offer.

Anna sighed in content as she thought of Elsa's face. Who was that mysterious creature behind her mask of perfection ? Who was she really ?

Elsa's image danced in front of Anna's eyes.

A shy smile laid on her lips. Her head was slightly tilted and her braid hung over her shoulder. But her icy blue eyes were shining bright.


	2. Chapter II

Chapter 2. 'The smallest smile ever recorded in human history.'

* * *

The winter came fast and snow fell in big flakes out of the sky.

Anna always enjoyed the snow, it was her favourite time of the year, after summer of course. So when the university organised a big snowball fight, Anna didn't need to think twice about it and participated like her life depended on it. Just as she was busy making snowballs, she noticed a certain blonde sitting by herself under the familiar oak tree.

Anna grinned devilishly.

She quickly picked up a snowball and threw it at Elsa. The girl yelped when the snowball hit her square in the face. Anna chuckled but that quickly faded when Elsa's distressed face appeared from under the snow. "Oh my gosh !" Anna sprinted towards her, bent over and helped her to get rid of all the snow. Elsa's angelic face was all red and cold as ice.

"Oh my gosh !" Anna exclaimed again while she placed her hands against her own face to empathise how shocked she was. "I am _so_ sorry ! Did I hurt you ?" she immediately checked for wounds or blood on Elsa's face. When she didn't find any, she fell down on her butt next to Elsa. She exhaled loudly and cursed. "Shit, I'm such a screw up. I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry, if you're mad at me then I completely underst-..."

A soft voice interrupted her. "It's ok." It was a curt reply, but it was something and Anna instantly felt better.

"Ppffeeeeeww," she breathed. "You had me worried there for a sec. I thought you were gonna die or something !" she joked. And if her eyes saw it good, Elsa's mouth turned slightly upwards. Showing the smallest smile ever recorded in human history.

"D-d don't you _like_ the snow ?" Anna asked hesitantly. How could anyone not like snow ? It was so much fun ! Building stuff, then destroying it. It was cold and yet it made you warm. Anna loved the snow since she could remember. But of course, there probably were people who didn't like the snow.

"I do like it. Just not in my face," Elsa said dryly while she gazed into the distance.

Oh.

The red head swallowed. Of course. "A-a alright. Copy that. Must never throw snow in the face of Elsa ever again."

Elsa chuckled softly.

Anna beamed, did she just make this gorgeous girl chuckle ? "Or you shall be punished by the Snow Queen herself !" she continued.

Elsa's chuckle ended abruptly. She looked Anna in the eyes. "Who told you about the Snow Queen name ?" she asked sharply. A hint of hurt reflected in her eyes.

Anna could bite off her tongue at that moment. It was a nickname to Elsa, given by the students who knew her only from appearance. It didn't mean Elsa liked to be called that ! And if she didn't like the name Snow Queen, then she surely hated the Ice Bitch name, something the red head would never mention to her. Anna slapped her forehead.

"Oh God, I'm _so_ sorry. It's just some people were referring to you as the Snow Queen since you're cold and distant. Not that I think you're cold and distant, on the contrary ! You're really sweet and nice and.. well, it's just... I guess people just can't see you the way I do. I'm sorry, I won't ever call you that again," she whispered, hoping Elsa would forgive her.

Elsa just nodded silently.

The rest of the day, Anna spent by hanging out with Elsa, which really meant just sit on the snow and do nothing besides staring into the distance. She tried to get Elsa speaking but after the nickname incident, Elsa was closed off again. A few hours later, Anna stood up, a bit sore and said goodbye to Elsa. The girl wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon but she looked ok with that. And when Anna waved, she even waved back !

Anna grinned.

It wasn't much but it was a start.

* * *

The mid terms were coming up and Anna needed to study for them. She had seen Elsa a couple of times around the university but didn't have the time to go and chat since the blonde obviously also had mid terms to study for. In her week off, Anna decided to pay the university's library a visit to get some new books and articles for her chosen topic that she would give a presentation of, at the end of the year.

The library was huge and there were like a thousand different kinds of books. When she walked into the ally where all the biology books were, a smile crept on her face. Elsa sat at the large oak desk, in front of her were at least five books, all opened, and her black notebook. She was busy writing something down and so she didn't see Anna. The redhead decided to grab whatever book and seated herself across from Elsa at the large desk. She opened her book and pretended that she was studying very hard while secretly spying on Elsa.

When the blonde was done taking notes, she looked up and noticed a certain red head sitting in front of her. A faint smile around the corners of her lips appeared.

"Hey Anna," she whispered.

Anna's mouth went open. She beamed as she replied. "Hey Elsa !" She immediately received multiple glares from other students.

She didn't care.

"Studying for the mid terms huh ?" She gave a small nod in the direction of Elsa's book collection. "I am also studying _very_ hard," she bragged. "I wanna keep my grades up !" Anna looked back in her book and pretended to study again very intense and concentrated while her heart was beating ten times faster as usual.

When she heard a small noise, she looked up, only to see Elsa... _giggling_ ? Anna frowned, what was so funny that Elsa had to giggle ?

"Anna, you do know that you're holding the book _upside down_ ?" She giggled some more. Anna found this sound Elsa produced too cute for words.

"Me ? Oh uh..." she stuttered as she rotated it, expecting Elsa to stop giggling. But Elsa giggled even more.

"Anna, you do know that you're _studying_ a book on Royal Etiquettes ?" She was now softly laughing, clutching her stomach in the process. _Damn_.

If only Anna had noticed, that when she was on her way to impress the gorgeous blonde, she had accidentally grabbed the wrong book from the wrong ally, an ally that was dedicated to Manners and Proper Behaviour. Anna's face became bright red as she realised she looked like a dumb chicken to Elsa. She closed the book and threw it across the table. "Oh well screw it ! I already know that stuff anyways !" A few girls shushed her loudly and gave her bitch glares. Anna grinned widely at them and then returned to the blonde.

Elsa raised one eyebrow. Darn it, Elsa, stop being so cute all the time, Anna thought as she admired the girl's face. " _You_ know all about manners and proper behaviour ?!" the blonde smirked while a hint of sarcasm showed in her voice.

Well, that's certainly new.. Anna thought briefly.

She crossed her arms before her chest, blissfully aware of the fact that Elsa was giving her all the attention by finally looking her in the eyes, talking to her and even laughing with her. "Yes I _do,_ " she said posh. "And for a fact, I also know that a lady like you should not laugh at a lady like me ! We should study as the mid terms are coming up and we need lady like grades, now don't we ?" She fooled around, ignoring the half scream shushes and multiple death glares she got from the, now pissed off, other students.

"And who, my beautiful, _noble_ lady, are you, telling me what to do ?"

For a split second, Anna was thrown off her chair. Did Elsa just _flirt_ with her ? Deciding to keep her poker face up, she answered in her most regal voice. "I, Anna Mason of the United States of America, embodiment of awkwardness, hereby demand you, the most beautiful Elisabeth Anderson, to g- _wwrrrgghh_ !"

Anna didn't even got to finish her sentence because someone very angry grabbed her by her arm and yanked her from her chair. A man, an angry looking man demanded she left the library so others could study in silence and peace. Anna held her hands up in defeat.

"Okay, okay, Mr. Weselton, I'm leaving already, relax." She frowned while stomping away, clearly not happy.

She was just having a nice conversation with Elsa, comes this man interrupting it. Stupid Weasel with his stupid toupee, she thought bitterly. She turned around to see Elsa laughing softly. Her angry mood immediately disappeared and she thought of a devious plan that would certainly piss anyone off. Anna shrugged, as long as Elsa would smile. She turned on her heels and waved at the blonde.

"BYE ELSA, SPEAK TO YOU SOON !" she shouted as hard as she could. Weselton ran up to her but Anna was faster. She dashed out of the library and sprinted to her dorm while laughing out loud. She, the clumsy and awkward Annabeth Sarah Mason, had made Elsa, the embodiment of sophisticated grace and beauty, laugh !

* * *

After the mid terms, Anna went home for the holidays. She wouldn't get to see Elsa for two weeks and it sucked. She just got used to the fact that Elsa was finally opening up little by little and she didn't want to miss any other milestones Elsa would reach during the time they were apart. Anna couldn't help but feel over excited whenever the signature French braid appeared. Elsa was a silent and timid girl but when she spoke, her speech was remarkably eloquent and her whole body spoke a language that was not from around here. Even though she didn't say it, Anna knew that Elsa liked her company. She never backed away, walked away or ignored her, which was new to Anna since most people got crazy from her stupid small talks after already half an hour. Not Elsa though. She, however, seemed to like her rambling and being awkward. She had even laughed about the fact that Anna was reading a book upside down !

Anna spent Christmas with her family. They had a fancy dinner and played games. She got a big sweater with a reindeer on it, a new phone and some college money as Christmas gifts. She spent boxing day in trying to stalk Elsa on the internet, turned out that Elsa didn't have Facebook or Twitter _or_ Instagram. Nothing. Anna stretched in her chair as she complained loudly. "How can she not have _any_ social media ? How else am I suppose to stalk her then ? She's not making it easy on me, is she ?"

"Who is not making it easy for you ?" her mother asked from behind her. Anna jolted up.

"Mom !" she exclaimed. "Don't creep up on me like that, you almost gave me a heart attack !" she said while pressing a hand on her chest.

Her mother smiled. "Who is she ?" she asked while pointing at Elsa's picture on Anna's screen.

"That's Elsa," Anna blushed. "We've been hanging out for a while now. She's really sweet."

Elsa was _really_ sweet. Not that fake kind of sweet. The pure one. So innocent. Not aware of the adorable antics she owned. Biting her lower lip whenever she was nervous. Pursing her lips when she was in utter concentration. Cocking an eyebrow when she was fooling around. Showing faint smiles, and teasing Anna subconsciously until the red head went crazy. Elsa was literally in Anna's thoughts every second of the day, and how much hated to admit that she liked it, it was kinda annoying too, but in a good way.

Her mother chuckled. "Well, she is gorgeous, I'll give you that. Why don't you ask her to come over ? I'd love to meet her."

"Mom ! We're not dating... _yet_. I don't know if she's gay. She hasn't really shown, although she _did_ flirt with me in the library but I don't think it meant that much to her as it meant to me."

"Well, tell me when she's coming over. I really want to meet her," her mother said and then left the room.

Anna sighed deeply. What if Elsa wasn't gay ? Then they could always be friends, that wasn't bad. But what if Elsa _was_ gay ? Anna gasped. She hadn't even thought about that ! What would it be like to kiss those delicious lips ? To taste her skin ? To feel her body ? Anna shook her head. She didn't want to think of Elsa as a sex object. She wanted Elsa to be her friend, and then maybe things could start to shift... or not ?

It all depended on what Elsa wanted. If she wanted to become friends and only stay friends, then Anna would be fine with that. No pushing at all. Now if Elsa wanted indeed more...

No.

Anna shook her head. First she wanted the girl to feel at ease with her. She wanted Elsa to be happy.

* * *

Christmas and New year's ever passed and it was time to return back to the university. There was a field trip planned for the biology majoring classes that would take two weeks, the groups were already selected. Anna couldn't be happier to hear that Elsa was chosen to be in her group. She jumped up and down from excitement as she greeted the shy girl cheerily. Elsa only smiled and Anna didn't demand more.

She looked a bit sore, somehow, Anna felt. The blonde tried to avoid using her right hand a lot and Anna caught her hunching over constantly. She decided not to bother Elsa with it as the girl clearly seemed trying to conceal her pain.

The group project was held in the woods. They studied small animals such as squirrels and mice. They also spotted some deers and even a few wolves during their night assignment. Because they often had to team up into duos, Anna chose Elsa to team up with, knowing that the others would most likely not chose her and Anna didn't want Elsa to feel alone. She chattered and rambled while Elsa collected humus and plants for their experiment. Elsa didn't say much but sometimes Anna caught her smiling while digging her slender fingers into the earth. They set up their little plant forrest and took notes the next day, or well Elsa mostly took the notes.

They did this every day for the next five days. By the end of the fifth day, each duo had to give a small presentation on their findings. Anna could tell that Elsa was nervous about this because her shoulders hunched forward and her breaths became more shallow. She decided that she would help Elsa because Elsa mostly did all of the work for them those days. She laid her hand on Elsa's shoulder. The girl jolted at the touch and recoiled. Anna took her hand back and raised it to show that she meant no harm.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you don't like to be touched," she said, trying her best to conceal her hurt feelings.

After all those weeks she thought Elsa would have trusted her more. Elsa seemed so at ease around her, or was it just an illusion Anna liked to believe ? But then Anna remembered that they hadn't seen each other since the holidays, and they both went home, all of the students did. Maybe something happened at home, she thought simply. Not wanting to show Elsa that she was hurt, Anna quickly started talking.

"Hey Elsa, I was thinking, since you did most of the experiment yourself, you deserve to give that presentation too..."

Elsa tensed up.

" _...but_ , I can see that you're very nervous, therefor I suggest that I should be the one to give the presentation because I _did_ have been paying attention closely, even if you think I didn't and I've got quite a lot to say about it actually. But if you really want to do it, then by my guest, like I said before, you did most of the job, you deserve the highest amount credits."

The relieve in Elsa's eyes was great when she gave the red head permission to present.

"Oh and by the way, how's your wrist ? I noticed you were rubbing it a lot.."

Elsa turned red. "Uh... fine, thanks," she stuttered while showing a weak smile.

"Just let me know when you're hurt ok ? Maybe I can help."

Elsa nodded.

"Alright then," said Anna and she went to prepare for the presentation.

At the end of the two weeks, Anna was sitting on a bench near their camp. It had been so much fun, a lot of out door activities, a lot of group games, plus, being around Elsa had its benefits. For instance, the girl knew a lot about the environment they were in and she took Anna, even though she didn't know it, with her on her explorations through the woods. She was more in her element here in the open nature than Anna had ever seen her back at the university.

Another benefit was that she slept in the same room with Elsa. There were a few other girls too but the fact that Anna's bed was practically next to Elsa's was pretty cool to Anna. Even though Elsa had a normal bed and Anna slept on top in a bunker bed. This way she could easily spy on the blonde at night. And seeing her sleep was one of her cutest moments. The thought of it was creepy but it had been on total accident, she swore. She had woken up one night and had gone to the toilet. When she had tried to climb back into bed, she had brushed her leg against someone's arm. When she had turned around to look what it was, it had been none other than Elsa's. The girl had been laying on her stomach with one arm off the bed, dangling in the air. Her leg had been entangled in the sheets somehow. She had been wearing night shorts but still a good part of her smooth legs were bare. Elsa's mouth had hung slightly open while tiny ragged breaths had escaped her lips. Her blonde hair had laid loose all over her pillow.

The view had been stunning and funny at the same time. Anna rarely got to see Elsa like this. She looked peaceful and without worries.

"Anna," a soft, melodic voice woke her up from her daydream.

She blinked her eyes to see that Elsa was standing next to her.

"I... I wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome," was her reply automatically. Then she frowned when she realised she didn't know what Elsa thanked her for. "For what actually ?"

Elsa smiled shyly. "For teaming up with me. For helping me with that presentation thing. For making me laugh at the library. For throwing a snowball in my face. For returning me my notebook. And... for noticing me, I guess," she summed up, her eyes glued to the ground as she blushed.

Anna's heart skipped a beat. Elsa had actually thanked Anna for _everything_ she ever did ? This girl was perfect and so sad at the same time. Did no one notice her before ? Seriously, with this much sweetness and adorableness and still no one looked at her ? Who _are_ these people, she thought disgusted. An idea suddenly popped into Anna's mind.

"Elsa ? Besides me, are there any other people you hang out with ? From your class or other classes, perhaps ?"

The blonde shook her head, eyes still glued to the ground, blushing even harder from embarrassment, maybe.

Anna jumped up. That was so mean ! Elsa was such a sweet and nice girl. All the red head wanted was make her happy and smile, she deserved that at least. Why did everyone treat her like crap, like she was invisible, like she didn't matter ? She _did_ matter, she mattered to Anna, and a _lot_. The shorter girl cursed furiously.

"Well, that's going to change from now on. You're gonna have to spend the rest of your year with _me,_ " she said as she stomped back to the camp to pack her stuff, dragging Elsa along. The blonde yelped when Anna grabbed her by her wrist but didn't do anything to get loose. She followed Anna silently back. She was somewhat relieved. Anna would help her.

Elsa didn't know why Anna was being so nice to her but she was eternally grateful for it.


	3. Chapter III

Chapter 3. 'You're my friend.'

* * *

Elsa's holiday had been a complete disaster. She went home for the two weeks but was already regretting her decision the minute she stepped foor into the big mansion. The lights were lit but it was quiet. She sighed in annoyance. Of course. Her parents were out, even though they knew their daughter would come home for the holidays, they still had chosen to go out.

For the one thousandth time Elsa was left alone.

Well, not entirely alone. Gerda was also there.

She was a small woman with grey hair. But even though she was small, she was a really great pillow to lay against. Gerda had been in their household for as long Elsa could remember her. She had basically raised the girl, since her parents were always busy.

Secondly, Jay was also home. Elsa rolled her eyes as she saw her younger, rebellious sister standing in the hallway with a smirk on her lips.

"Good to see you back home, _nerd_." The sarcasm spat off her words. She smacked as she was chewing gum.

Jay was Elsa's younger sister, their age gap was about four years and a few months. Jay was the youngest, she could get away with everything. At the age of eleven she was already smoking. At the age of thirteen she had already slept with her first boyfriend. At the age of fifteen she had already smoked weed and pot and dealt in marihuana. She had an eyebrow piercing and a lip piercing. While she had been running off with boys, Elsa had been studying and trying to be the good, responsible, eldest sister. But no matter how hard she tried to be a good girl, her parents always ended up liking Jay more.

Why ?

Elsa frowned when she saw her sister's black hair. That was a first. A trade mark that both sisters shared was that they were both incredibly pale with incredibly pale blonde hair. "You dyed your hair ?!" Elsa cocked her head. "You look even paler than a corpse announced dead for at least seven days..." she deadpanned, fully aware that she was as pale as her sister.

Jay stuck out her tongue. "I didn't ask for your opinion, I like it. Besides, I didn't wanna look like _you_ !" she started cherishing the purple streak in her hair.

The comment stabbed Elsa in her heart. She knew her parents didn't really like her, but she had hoped that her sister at least would be on her side. But, that never seemed to be the case anyways. Sometimes, they got along well. That was mostly when their parents were arguing that mattered to both the sisters. But it was a rare occasion.

Jay always had been jealous of Elsa's status as the eldest child, she was the heir to the family's fortune by birthright, and Jay wouldn't get any of it. And no matter how hard Elsa tried to convince her parents that they had to split up the money, they refused because they knew Jay would only use it for bad things. They wanted Elsa to invest it in good business deals after their death, something they had trusted upon her, and quite frankly, the _only_ thing they had trusted upon her. The only _good_ thing they had ever done for her, perhaps.

Elsa tried to ignore Jay's comment. "Whatever," she shrugged.

Jay chuckled. "You're such a pussy."

"Elsa !" Gerda shouted excitedly as she ran up to the blonde with her arms wide open.

Jay rolled her eyes.

"I missed you so much !" The older woman wrapped her arms around the slender girl. "It's good to see you, sweetpie ! Come on, tell me everything about your study !"

They sat down on the big red couch and Elsa started telling about her courses, lecturers and tests.

"You're such a nerd," Jay mocked.

Elsa tried to ignore the comment, she continued to talk about the things that had happened, which included Anna. Sweet Anna. How she loved her freckles and clumsy behaviour. How she loved her rambling and quirky smiles. How she loved those twin braids and restless hands. Gerda smiled as she pulled Elsa closer.

"I think you really like her, don't you ?" she whispered. Her eyes glimmering. Elsa blushed. "Well, good for you."

"Ew," Jay pretended to be grossed out, "I never thought that someone would actually _like_ you !" she sneered. Elsa only raised her eyebrow cockily.

"Young lady, treat your sister well !" Gerda stood up as she glared at the young rebel, then she looked back at Elsa. "Well, why don't you rest for a while ? You must be tired after all those weeks of studying. Your parents will be home soon." She headed for the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Elsa laid on the couch for a while and stared at her phone. She ignored Jay's annoying comments about her being lazy. She had worked her ass off the last couple of months, she deserved her rest. She bit her lip as she continued to stare at the black screen of her phone.

Should she call Anna ? Already ? If she did, she might come over as a pathetic little girl who already missed Anna on their first day apart. She shook her head, no, she wouldn't call Anna now. Maybe tomorrow ? She closed her eyes and listened how Gerda was cooking. A delicious aroma filled the huge house.

Her heart sank to her feet when she heard the front gates opening. Her parents were home. She shot up and looked bewildered around. Jay jolted up too. The sisters exchanged a look of distress, the only thing they had in common was their fear for their parents. What should she do ? Should she go upstairs and change clothes ? Should she brush her hair ? Gerda came running in the living room, she smiled assuring.

"Listen girls, just stand up straight and greet them cheerily, that'll do." She hastily opened the front door. "Welcome home Mr and Mrs Anderson," she said as she bowed shortly. There was a pair behind them. "Sir, ma'am. Welcome to the Anderson Mansion." Gerda bowed again.

They were with four. Elsa rolled her eyes. _Of course_. They had invited friends to stay over, like they always did. They seemed like they never really wanted to be alone, always needing company to brag about their achieved goals and big mansion. Elsa hated the fact that her parents seemed so cool and great to hang out with, she knew better.

Her father glared at Gerda, he had never treated the old lady with respect, to Elsa's dismay. He handed her his coat and immediately lit up a cigarette. He smiled as the younger man behind him also lit his. Her mother immediately grabbed a whine bottle, without her Chardonnay, she was lost. The woman next to her giggled. None of them noticed a certain blonde girl standing in the hallway, nervous of how to greet her parents. Gerda scoffed.

"Mr and Mrs Anderson, your daughter has just returned home for the holidays !" she gestured to Elsa.

"Oh Elsa dear !" her mother chanted as she hugged her daughter awkwardly.

"Hello mother," Elsa whispered as she was almost crushed to death. The other woman laughed.

"Elsa dear, this is my friend Claudia," her mother introduced the dark haired woman. Claudia waved shortly. A nasty cloud of perfume swarmed around her and Elsa almost gagged.

From her father she received a short nod. He introduced her to Andrew, the younger man. She gave him a short bow of curtesy in return, like he was the king. She had learned to bow before her father's company, it was normal to her, Andrew, however, was a little at unease.

Her parents both hugged Jay. Elsa felt a slight pang of jealousy. Their parents never hugged _her_. Jay, however, didn't seem to like the physical touch much, she just rolled her eyes and proceeded to chew her gum with smacking sounds. Elsa giggled, even though she didn't really like her sister, she was a comedic relief when it came down to having guests over.

"Gerda, is dinner almost ready ? We don't want to keep our guests waiting," her mother smiled her fake sweet smile.

Gerda nodded and lead them to the dining room.

They all seated, her father at the head of the table, her mother on the other side. Andrew sat left from her father across from Elsa, Claudia next to Andrew, right from her mother and across from Jay. Elsa didn't look up, she stared at her empty plate, wanting to finish dinner as soon as possible to get out of here. Gerda brought in the food and the sound of the metal forks and knives was soon to be heard scraping on the dishes. Andrew and her father were talking about tax reports and stuff. Claudia and her mother were gossiping about their bitchy girlfriends. Elsa stuffed the food down her throat and tried to excuse herself immediately after she was done. She rushed past her father but he quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going !?" It was not a question.

Elsa turned bright red. "I-i I'm sorry father, I wish to be excused. I feel tired," she whispered. Anger boiled up in her. He was hurting her wrist, he didn't seem to be aware of it.

"Graham dear, let her go," her mother interfered.

Her father only held onto his daughter's wrist harder. He almost crushed it. "Nataly, you stay out of this," he grimaced.

Elsa yelped when her father still refused to let go. "Father, it hurts !" she tried to get loose. If he held on tighter, the bones would snap, she thought panicked.

" _Graham_ !"

"Nataly ! Shut your-..."

"DAADD !" Jay suddenly yelled.

Their father turned his head to his youngest. She stared back at him fiercely. Elsa quickly pulled her wrist out of his hand. She glanced at Jay, a faint smile on her lips as a thank you. Jay nodded shortly.

"Sit down," her father ordered. Elsa fell back in her chair as she massaged her hurting wrist. The fragile skin was already becoming red. She let out a soft sob, she was embarrassed. Of course he had to humiliate her in front of _them_.

Perfume cloud, or better, Claudia, decided to change the topic and bent over the table to speak to Elsa.

"Sweet child, what do you study ?" her southern accent disgusted the blonde.

"I study biology, ma'am," Elsa said curtly, still rubbing her hurting wrist, luckily it was her non-dominant arm.

Her father let out a deep sigh. "I wanted her to study Law, but she was stubborn and chose biology, _behind our backs_ !" he sneered.

Elsa bit her lip. It was true. He wanted her to study something she wasn't interested in. She lied to them and said she had applied for it but was turned down, her other choice had been biology in which she was accepted. But they had found out the truth somehow and her father had punished her, and hard too. She cringed when she thought back of it.

"I'm doing the best I can. I'm even taking extra curricular courses," she whispered.

"Do you have any friends, Elsa ?" Andrew suddenly asked.

Jay snorted.

Elsa ignored her.

"There is this girl I really like..." she blushed. "I think she wants to become friends with me."

Her father gave her a short glare. "You _know_ how I feel about having friends, Elsa."

Elsa squeezed her eyes. She would control her anger, she would control it ! She would not snap, not in front of their company. "I think she really likes me," she simply replied.

Claudia smiled. "Having friends is good, sweet child. I'm glad you like that girl too."

"I _told_ you how I feel about having friends, didn't I, Elsa ? Why do you keep disobeying me then ?"

Her mother interfered. "Graham, shush."

Elsa jumped up. "You don't get to say what I do and don't ! Jay here is the one who goes out with boys and deals in drugs ! Yet I don't see you getting angry with her ! No it's always me ! Always me, me, me !" she spat. She hadn't controlled herself, she hadn't concealed. He would probably punish her. She didn't mind, for now.

Jay gave her a good hard punch in her side. "Thanks a lot, Els," she muttered.

" _You,_ " he pointed at Elsa. "Watch your mouth, young lady," he threatened as he stood up too, his eyes darkening.

The young blonde tried to stand tall across from her father's large body hoovering over her. She straightened her shoulders and held her head up high as she continued.

" _I_ happen to like her very much, and there's nothing you can do abo-.."

 _SLAP !_

Elsa shut up, her cheek was stinging. She gasped. He had just hit her. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her father had hit her, but that wasn't anything new, it was new that he had hit her in front of guests, in front of her _mother_ !

"Elsa, sweetpie..." he whispered, his voice full of regret.

It was all and act. He didn't mean it, he never meant it. Regret didn't exist in his vocabulary. And so Elsa grimaced.

Her mother looked shocked, Claudia was biting her nails and Andrew tried everything but to look at the poor girl. Jay whistled a tune while chewing her gum.

"I HATE YOU, I FUCKING HATE YOU !" Elsa yelled at him and stormed out of the dining room, leaving an uncomfortable atmosphere.

She heard her father excuse himself and her mother leading the guests to the living room. She ran straight towards her bedroom and locked her door but her dad busted it open anyways. He stood tall, raging and fuming. Elsa spit on the floor, right before his feet. That was her mistake. He yanked her by her upper arm and threw her against the wall. Elsa shrieked an apology. She crumpled on the floor into a ball, trying to protect herself. He dragged her up by her hair and gave her a good few punches in her ribs. She apologised over and over but her pleas fell deaf to his ears. He threw her against her closet. She dropped to the floor again. He kicked his rage out on her. When he felt that he was done, he composed himself again and left her room. He closed her door and gracefully descended the stairs. The rest of her holiday, he would avoid the first floor, where her bedroom was located.

Elsa laid on the floor. She coughed as she spit out blood. She slowly turned on her back and whimpered when she felt her ribs complaining. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Anna. Elsa didn't have the heart to talk to her right now as she would probably break down, so she threw the thing across the room where it landed on a pile of clothes. She really missed Anna and her comforting voice and ignoring her messages and calls broke her heart. Elsa sobbed. Her whole body felt like it was on fire.

Stupid father. Stupid house. Stupid life. Stupid self.

She hated herself. She hated herself for not being able to get her parent's approval. For not being able to show what she got. For not being able to express her love for Anna. The only one who cared for her. Anna.

She missed her so badly.

Elsa collapsed against her closet and started crying hysterically. This is _exactly_ why she didn't want to go home ! She knew this was going to happen. It always did. She tried to be the good girl, but somehow she would always end up pissing her father off. She cried so hard that she didn't hear the soft knock on her door until Gerda stood in her room. The older woman pulled her into a hug and let the girl cry in her chest. She rubbed Elsa's back as they rocked back and forth. After a few hours of bawling her eyes out, Elsa finally fell asleep, exhausted. Her nose was red and her cheeks were wet. Her breaths were ragged because of her hurting ribs but it was a deep sleep and she was completely unresponsive to anything. Gerda climbed into bed with the girl she considered as her own daughter. It hurt the elder woman to see this poor child getting treated miserably. Sure, there were times when the family would have some fun, but that never lasted long and always ended up with Elsa crying. Gerda covered their bodies with the pink sheets and sang Elsa's favourite lullaby while caressing her soft blonde locks.

"I failed to protect you again," she sobbed as she checked the girl's ribs. They were already becoming a nasty shade of purple. "You're hurt because I'm such a coward," she cried that night as she kissed Elsa over and over.

In the small door opening stood Jay. She watched how her sister was being soothed by Gerda. A tear rolled over her cheek as she walked back to her own room.

The rest of her two weeks, Elsa spent in her room or the garden. She wasn't allowed to go off their property, not that she minded nor wanted to. She didn't have friends anyways so going anywhere wasn't an option. She did see Jay a couple of times, but they never really talked. The blonde sat at her desk often and drew Snowflakes non stop, it was the only thing that would keep her mind off her dad and on Anna. She couldn't wait until she had to return to the university, life there seemed so much easier with the red head beside her. Anna called her and messaged her like a dozen times, none of them did she return. She hoped the girl wouldn't be too angry with her for not having answered. She hoped they could stay friends, she really liked her. Anna was the first who actually cared for her. She was the first who actually saw her real self. She was the first girl with whom she felt at ease with. She was the first one she started to love.

* * *

The head monitor did not seem to be amused when Anna asked him to be transferred to another class. He didn't understand why she wanted to move. She explained him that her schedule didn't match her working schedule and that she would get fired otherwise. She told him that she hoped to be transferred to class 23Gb because their schedule was matching her work schedule. After a lot of complaints and 'but's' on his side, he finally agreed and said she would be transferred by the end of the month. A month was long but it was better than nothing, Anna decided. Soon, Elsa wouldn't have to sit by herself anymore. Soon, Elsa would have a friend who cared for her and who loved her no matter what.

When looking for the girl, and couldn't find her, Anna became worried. Normally she would be in the library, or sit under the oak tree. But she was no where to be found. After some searching Anna decided to head back to her dorm. When she passed the ladies bathroom, she heard a soft sob. She stopped and pushed the door open, revealing Elsa sitting in the corner and crying into her knees. Anna immediately rushed to her side as she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. Elsa froze under the touch, she didn't look up.

"Elsa. What's wrong ?" Anna looked around in concern. She noticed Elsa's bag laying on the floor with most of its content thrown around. The mirror was broken and in the sink laid her black notebook, the pages were all ripped apart. What happened in here, Anna wondered. Elsa hiccuped while she tried to get her breathing back under control.

"Why is your notebook torn up ?"

Elsa still didn't look at Anna.

The red head demanded answers so she gently placed her fingers under Elsa's chin to push her head up. "Elsa, look at me. Do you want to tell me what's going on ?" her voice sounded like that of a mother asking her child. She didn't care, she had to know what happened. Maybe someone hurt her !

Elsa bit her lower lip as she didn't dare to look Anna in the eyes. She sighed deeply. "It's nothing. I'm fine now."

"No you're not. Your hair is a mess, you have tears all over your face, your notebook is in the sink and the mirror is broken. You are everything _but_ fine !"

"I- I.. I don't wanna talk about it," the blonde whispered, clearly embarrassed of the state Anna found her in. She hugged her knees.

Anna decided not to push her. If she was ready, they could talk about it. "Ok," she said softly. "At least let me help you get your stuff back together then."

Elsa nodded, to her surprise. Anna helped her up and quickly rubbed her arm, showing that she cared. Elsa washed her face, did her hair and reapplied her make up while Anna collected the torn pages. She never meant to do it but accidentally she read one of Elsa's many texts. It was small and written in the corner.

"Thanks Anna," Elsa suddenly said.

Anna slammed the notebook shut and blushed. "Uh, of course. You're my friend," she blurted.

Elsa cocked her head and smiled. "I am ?" she sounded surprised, because who in the world would want to befriend _her_.

"Of course you are, silly," Anna chuckled while laying an arm around Elsa's shoulders. The girl didn't retreat at the touch. Anna smiled, she was progressing quickly. Anna felt proud. "Now, I'm heading to the library, wanna join me ?"

Elsa smiled and nodded. "I'd love that."

Later that evening, Anna laid in bed, tossing and turning around. She kept repeating the day she had gone through. First she was nervous to talk to the head monitor about switching classes. But in the end he had agreed and she felt happy and excited to tell Elsa. Then she couldn't find Elsa and worry replaced her happiness. Then she found the person she cared about so much, alone and extremely sad. And Anna became sad too. It was obvious that Elsa has had some anger outburst or something.

But why wouldn't she tell Anna about it ? She couldn't seem to fall asleep. She was constantly thinking about that one sentence on one of Elsa's pages. Anna never would have thought that Elsa would write down personal stuff as well. She thought it was for notes during class. That black notebook was probably full of other personal texts, texts that she shouldn't read but she was so curious. Would Elsa write down what was going on in her head ? Maybe if she read those texts, she would understand her better ? Anna suddenly felt the urge to read everything, as if it was written to _her_ somehow. She knew that Elsa wouldn't want that, it was _her_ notebook and it should only be seen before _her_ eyes. As she laid on her mattress, the sleep stayed away from her. That little text she read in Elsa's notebook was stuck in her head.

 _'Conceal, don't feel. Put on a show, make one wrong move and everyone will know.'_

* * *

The next time the two met, was at the end of the month. Anna was finally transferred and Elsa's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she found out that Anna was going to be in her class for the rest of the year. Having lessons with Elsa was a lot better, Anna found out. First, the girl wrote down important notes and told Anna when to pay attention or explained her for instance how osmosis worked. She was super smart and passed tests with high scores.

Second, Elsa was a good drawer, a _really_ good drawer, to Anna's surprise because she had never seen her draw before. Elsa drew the most intricate patterns in her tiny notebook. A theme that always came back were snowflakes. She was brilliant at them. Designing them unique to each other and colouring them with the most beautiful colour combinations. Anna always peeked at how she was drawing and how concentrated she was. Her eyebrows moved constantly while her eyes flew all over the page. Sometimes she was so busy drawing that she didn't notice that classes were over. It was until now that Anna also noticed that Elsa was left handed, which made her even more perfect than she already was.

The lecture was finally over and the two friends headed outside. It was cold and still snowing. Elsa seemed to be in her element which pleased Anna enormously. Because of Elsa's obsession with snowflakes, Anna decided to test out the new nickname she picked for the blonde girl.

"Hey, Snowflake. Wanna go to my room ?" she whispered in Elsa's ear.

Elsa bit her lower lip and started grinning like a child in a candy store. She looked at Anna. "Is that my new nickname ?"

Anna nodded enthusiastically. "It's because you always draw them. And it suits you well, you're like a snowflake. Beautiful, unique, bright," she summed up. "D- d- do... do you like it ?"

"I love it. I really do." Elsa showed Anna her best smile. She then took out her notebook, flipped a few pages back and ripped out a gorgeous snowflake.

"Oh my gosh, Elsa no !" Anna exclaimed in shock.

But Elsa only smiled and handed her the paper. "Here. I want you to have it." A blush crept on her cheeks.

Anna was left speechless, which was rarely the occasion. She took her gift and started admiring it. "Oh my goodness, Elsa !" tears welled up in her eyes. "That's so sweet of you. No one ever gave me a present like that before !"

"No one ever gave you a present ?!"

"No, no, no. I mean, sure I got plenty of presents from people, but none of them were from... the inside, the heart, like yours. None of them were like, a _part_ of them, that they gave to me. And you just did."

"I just wanted to thank you, for all you've done for me."

Anna nodded. "I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I'm never gonna lose this, for sure. I'm gonna frame this on my ceiling so that I can look at it every night I go to sleep and when I wake up, it's the first thing I'm gonna see in the morning, reminding me of how special and sweet you are and ho-..."

Soft lips were pressed on Anna's. She freaked out, pulling away. With big eyes she stared at the girl.

What _dafuq_ just happened !?

She felt dizzy, like the whole place was spinning. She grabbed Elsa's arm to steady herself while trying to catch her breath. "E- e- Elsa ? What just... ?"she stared at the blonde, who looked as equally as freaked out as she was.

"Oh !" Elsa exclaimed and turning bright red. "A- a- aren't you... I- I- I thought that you were, you know, since you were signalling pretty _obviously_... Shoot, I'm so stupid," she fumed. She actually _fumed_. "I'm sorry, Anna.." She cast her eyes down to stare at her shoes.

Anna didn't need to think twice, she cupped Elsa's face in her hands and pressed her lips on the blonde's. They were soft, moist and sweet. Even better than she ever imagined. When she pulled away, Elsa's face was redder than a tomato. Anna giggled. Elsa pushed her. Anna giggled even more. Then she turned serious again.

"I _am_. And I did enjoy it the first time. It was just... It was unexpected, I guess. I thought we should be friends first and then maybe see how far we would come... I _never in the world_ would have imagined you to make the first move. On _me_ !"

Elsa smiled shyly. "I enjoyed it too," she said while rubbing her arm.

"I'm glad." Anna wrapped her arm around Elsa's waist. "So, still wanna go to my room ?"

They spent their afternoon and evening in Anna's room. Anna showed her all of her stuff and they watched a movie together. Laying on her bed under the covers, she realised that she had never been so close to Elsa as she was now. Her leg laid in between Elsa's and their fingers were intertwined. She felt Elsa's body emitting warmth to her own. She sighed, this was perfect. She moved even closer to the blonde, who was watching the movie intensely, and laid her head in the crook of her neck.

Elsa smelled delicious. She smelled like a fresh afternoon breeze. Like a sunset after a gorgeous day. Like a new bought sketchbook. Like perfection. If there was a heaven, this was how it would feel like, Anna decided. And it was all she ever needed. The blonde hair tickled her nose but she didn't mind. She wanted to stay in this position forever, if that were possible. Elsa shifted.

"Laying comfy ?" her soft voice sounded relaxed and warm.

When she received a nod, Elsa giggled. Which was the cutest sound, _ever_. Because she continued to watch the movie, so did Anna. The girl chuckled when she realised that her answer got answered by none other than Snowflake herself.

Elsa was _indeed_. Gay.


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter 4. 'No, I don't want to buy a new vacuum cleaner, thanks.'

* * *

"So. Are we dating ?" Elsa asked out of nowhere. Anna looked up and raised her eyebrow. They were walking through the park of their university. It was a cold day but nothing was too cold when Elsa was with you. Their noses were red and their hands cold, but they didn't care. Happily, they strolled through the thick snow while holding hands. Elsa had improved, while she didn't let anyone touch her or near her a few months ago, she now finally was getting used to direct touch. Anna couldn't be prouder of her. They had even made a snowman !

"Do you _want_ us to date ?" she asked surprised.

Elsa shrugged.

Anna laughed. "Now, what's that for kind of an answer." She kicked at the snow.

"I'll take you out for a date !" Elsa suddenly blurted. They stopped. Elsa smiled. "Seriously, I'll take you."

"But... where ? When ? Why ?"

Elsa laughed as she kissed the tip of Anna's red nose. "Because, _Rudolph_ , I like you, very much. And I want to take you on a date. Friday night. I'll pick you up at seven."

Anna started to smile.

"Oh," Elsa added. "Don't wear anything too fancy."

" _Why_..." Anna asked suspicious while grinning. She liked this new side of Elsa. She really did.

"I'm not going to tell because that would ruin the surprise." A mischievous light sparkled in Elsa's eyes.

Anna pouted. Elsa laughed and walked further. Then, Anna bent over and made a small snowball. "Hey, Elsa," she called while preparing to throw the ball. Elsa turned around still laughing, when she saw what Anna's plan was her face turned serious. She held up her hands in defeat.

"Oh come on, Anna. Not again," she groaned while her eyes never left the ball.

Anna laughed devilishly. "Should have thought about that before you decided to tease me." She aimed her ball at Elsa.

"I want to surprise you !" Elsa tried. "Don't you like surprises ?!"

"Tell me or have a ball thrown at your face !" Anna dared.

Elsa crossed her arms before her chest and pushed her chin up. "No. I'm not goi-..." _Plof_. The snowball hit her square in the face, for the second time. Elsa just stood there, dazzled. Then, she grinned and grabbed a handful of snow. "Oh it's _on_ !" she shouted playfully.

Anna jumped in the air from excitement. Yes, another milestone !

They spent the rest of their afternoon having a heated snowball fight. Elsa won, it was obvious. Although, Anna was pretty close. Both girls were soaking wet and decided it was better to go home and change. Elsa suggested they should go to her room since Anna has never seen it before.

Elsa's room was marvellous, Anna decided. It wasn't too small, it was fairly big actually. There was a big queen sized bed in the corner with blue sheets. Next to the bed stood a huge desk where a small laptop and lots of papers rested. Above the desk were two shelves with books and other stuff. On the shelves hung cosy christmas lights that were switched on.

"At all times," Elsa laughed.

On the other side of the room was a comfy couch. A small dining table with two chairs was stuffed in the corner. Elsa also had a toilet and a shower in her room, which Anna was jealous of since she had to share with her roomies, not that she minded. The room was organised, neat and clean, although, Elsa's desk looked like if there had been a tornado recently. Papers, books and notebooks everywhere, pencils and sketchbooks and random stuff all over the place. A half empty cup of tea and a half eaten sandwich laid in the corner of the desk.

Anna smiled. Sandwiches.

"D-d.. do you like my room ? I'm sorry for the mess on my desk, I've been wanting to clean it up but you know... haven't really gotten the time for it," Elsa spoke softly while fiddling with her braid nervously.

"No, it's ok. I like your room," Anna smiled. "It's really cosy."

Elsa sighed out in relief. Anna smirked when she saw how Elsa threw a bunch of stuff in the corner next to her desk. That perfect girl, having the messiest desk of the world ! And her mother always yelled at her how _her_ desk was a mess.

She noticed a red hand towel and threw it at Elsa. "Here, we need to get out of these clothes or we'll catch a cold," she said and began stripping right in front of the blonde. Elsa's face turned even redder than her hand towel. Anna was just taking off her clothes like it was perfectly fine !?

The red head noticed the blonde girl's distress.

"Snowflake, what's wrong ? I can turn around you know," she said softly.

Elsa nodded and Anna turned around. She couldn't help it but peek. Elsa graciously took off her jacket and pried open the buttons of her blouse. A pale upper body came into view. The only thing that bothered Anna were the ugly bruises covering the ribs and half of her stomach. Anna immediately fully turned around. Elsa gasped as she quickly threw a hoodie over her head.

"Heey ! I thought you wouldn't look !"

Anna's eyes were wide, she tried to say something but she couldn't, which was the second time Elsa managed to shut her up.

Elsa frowned. "Anna ? Is there..."

"What is that," Anna blurted out while pointing at Elsa's stomach.

The blonde looked confused. "That's my... hoodie ?"

Anna shook her head. "No. I mean underneath." When Elsa didn't understand it, Anna pulled her hoodie up, revealing those ugly bruises again. "What is _that_ !?" she pointed.

Elsa turned red as she tried to push her hoodie down, Anna was persistent. Her finger traced the biggest one right under her breast. "How did you get _these_ ?" she asked, clearly shocked.

"I fell." Elsa answered automatically, when she realised it, she adverted her eyes out of shame.

Anna shook her head, people always gave the same answer. 'I fell', is another definition for 'I was beaten up but I'm not going to tell you'. Her mother learned her that from a young age. She always said; 'quick answers while adverting eyes and maybe blushing or changing subject can definitely be seen as suspicious behaviour, don't automatically assume that they tell the truth.'

And she was right in this case.

"I'm not buying it. You don't get multiple bruises in this shape from just falling," Anna simply said. "For fuck's sake Elsa, you have biology too, you should know this ! Now, I'm asking you, how did you get this ?"

Elsa didn't answer.

Anna lowered her hoodie, the blonde seemed relieved. "Elsa, if you're not answering it on your own, then I feel obliged to force it out of you, one way or another !" she threatened.

Elsa's eyes grew wide. "Y-y-you wouldn't !" she stammered, not believing what she just heard.

"Oh yes I would, now please ! Tell me how you got these, did someone hurt you ? Did Hans beat you up ?"

The blonde shook her head.

"Then please tell me who was it ? How else am I gonna kick his ass back ?!" Anna pleaded.

"It's ok, Anna, really. Look ! I'm fine now !"

"No you aren't. The other day I found you in the women's bathroom having a complete breakdown ! I can already guess that had something to do with this..." Anna slowly pulled the blonde in a deep embrace and whispered softly. "Please tell me what happened, Elsa. I care for you, you know that. I can't pretend everything is fine when I know that clearly someone beat you up." She looked at Elsa with pleading eyes. "Please tell me ?"

"Fine," Elsa whispered. "I-i it was my fault. I said I hated him. He p-p.. he punished me for my big mouth..."

She looked so fragile.

Anna frowned. "Who's _he_ ?"

Elsa started sobbing. "He.. he just hit me, and kicked me...I-I told him I was sorry... He wouldn't listen !"

They fell on Elsa's bed. Anna pulled her closer. She now realised why Elsa had been looking a little sore those two camping weeks. Because before those weeks was... the holidays ! Wait, she started thinking, that's why she was so silent perhaps, not that she wasn't silent, she was just a little too silent, even for her. There was nobody during that time that could have hurt her besides her parents. And given the size and colour of those bruises Anna would guess that they were given by a man... A _certain_ man in Elsa's family.

"Snowflake ?" she whispered. "Was your _dad_ hurting you ?"

Elsa started crying in her arms. Anna felt no need to ask further. "Oh my god, sweetheart," she said while wrapping her body closer around the blonde's shaking from protectively. She pushed her face deep into Elsa's neck. "Oh my god."

* * *

"Hey feisty pants ?" Elsa asked as she played with Anna's red locks. They were laying on Anna's bed for a while now. It was evening, they just finished dinner and were enjoying their time together.

Anna smirked, she could get used to her new nickname !

"Yeah Snowflake, what's up ?" she asked cheerily and laid her head against Elsa's shoulder.

"Who is that blonde, muscular guy you used to hang out with during your first year ?"

Anna blinked a couple of times. Elsa chuckled. Anna looked at Elsa, her eyes big. "How do you know about Kristoff ?" She gasped.

Elsa smirked. "Oh, I've seen you guys plenty of times. And he knocked me over, once you know."

" _Kristoff_ knocked you over ?" That was definitely him, that guy was so big, he knocked everyone over.

"You helped me up and apologised for him. You told me I was pretty and then you left with a red face." Elsa shrugged.

Anna gasped again, then she snorted. Oh yeah, she remembered. "Shoot, that was _you_ ! Gosh, I was so embarrassed then ! I didn't even know your name !" She was still embarrassed about it now.

"That's alright, that was the first compliment I'd ever received from a peer."

"Holy shit, you're kidding me !" Anna shouted. Elsa didn't look like she was kidding. "But... but look at you ! I mean, you are freaking hot ! How can anyone resist... _That_ !" She waved her hands up and down Elsa's body so sympathise her words.

The blonde started blushing. "Thank you Anna. However, I cannot see how this Kristoff guy has never fallen in love with you ! I mean, you're beautiful and sweet and funny. He would be very lucky to have you."

"Well, he met a girl, Giselle, a Spanish girl to be precise. He ditched me for her." Anna growled. She was still bitter about it. "Seemed like he had a thing for brunettes..." she mumbled.

Elsa looked at Anna. She looked concerned. "A-are you ok with that ?"

Anna bent over and kissed the blonde's small nose. "It's not that I can do much about it. I was his best friend, I let him go because he deserved the happiness he got. I got mine eventually."

* * *

"I don't have anything _decent_ to wear !" Anna complained, to herself, while looking at the big pile of clothes on her bed. She had her date with Elsa that evening and she wanted it to be perfect. So with a perfect date, belongs a perfect outfit. Which she hadn't managed to find yet. She scratched her head. _'_

 _Don't wear anything too fancy.'_ Elsa had told her.

What had she meant by that ? Anna frowned, did that mean they were not going to a restaurant, have a nice dinner and talk some ? Well, if that were the case, she better not wear a dress then, since a dress was officially fancy. Maybe a nice blouse, Anna thought as she picked out her red and black striped blouse. It was a warm and comfy thing and she liked it very much. Under the blouse she picked black skinny jeans. To finish her casual look, Anna decided to wear a black and white scarf and a grey beanie. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked nice. Not too fancy, not too casual. Just about right. She quickly brushed her teeth and did her hair when the doorbell rang. She grinned as she looked at the clock, exactly seven pm.

Elsa, punctual as always.

"No, I don't want to buy a new vacuum cleaner, thanks," Anna joked as she opened her door. Elsa chuckled.

"Hi Anna," she said shyly while showing her beautiful smile. "Ready for our date ?"

"You bet I am !" Anna squealed happily as she hooked her arm in one of Elsa's. The blonde was dressed in a casual brown trench coat. It looked good on her. Anna liked it, the coat accentuated her curves so beautifully. A black scarf completed her look. She also wore trousers and Anna was so glad that she didn't put on that dress. "So," she asked while jumping up and down from excitement. "Where are we going ?"

Elsa grinned as she stayed silent and continued to walk. It took about fifteen minutes until they arrived. At a sport hall. Anna's mood went downhill. "Geez, Els. I dunno but I'm not going to work out if that's what you consider a date..."

Elsa giggled. "Of course not silly. We're going to do something much more fun !" She dragged Anna inside.

There was a ladies dressing room where Elsa tossed some stuff at Anna. She frowned as she put on the shoes. They walked funny. Then, Elsa took off her coat and revealed a white knitted cardigan on top of lovely orange and brown checkered jeans. Anna gasped.

"Whoa Elsa, you look amazing !"

Elsa blushed. She grabbed Anna's hand and took her inside. There weren't that many people but it looked amazing. Very low lights, torches enlightened the floor. Soft music was playing in the background. Anna's mouth fell open. So this had been Elsa's plan ! To go _ice skating_. Elsa led her to the ice, gracefully stepping onto it. Anna struggled but she managed.

"Oh Elsa, it's lovely," she smiled. "But I can't skate !"

"Oh come on !" The blonde took both of the red head's hands and started to drag her over the ice. "You can do it !" she encouraged while she was skating backwards herself.

Anna smiled, this girl was just full of surprises, wasn't she ? She slowly glided over the ice, Elsa kept encouraging her while she proceeded to drag her forth. After a while, Anna got the hang of it and was able to skate without any help. She watched as the blonde skated elegantly around her, having no trouble on the slippery ice at all. It seemed like she and winter, and anything to do with it, went great together. Elsa was made for the winter. After two hours on the ice, they stepped off. Anna was tired but she was happy. Elsa looked radiant.

"I haven't been on the ice much, lately," she told.

"You skate ?" Anna asked surprised. Elsa nodded. Anna shook her head, was there anything the blonde _couldn't_ do ?

"I used to skate competitive, but I stopped when I was about nineteen." She pointed at her knee. "Injury."

Anna smiled apologetic. "Do you miss it ?"

"A bit," Elsa shrugged. "But I can't be too long on it anyways. Tonight was fun !" Elsa suddenly stopped. "I have a question."

"Fire away," the red head smiled while taking off her shoes.

"Remember that time in the library where that creepy Weasel sent you away ?"

Anna chuckled, oh yeah she remembered that one. "Of course, I made you laugh !"

Elsa continued. "You called me by my full name, Elisabeth. How did you know that ?"

"I know everything," Anna laughed when seeing the blonde cocking her eyebrow. She turned bright red, well now that Elsa knew, she might as well tell her the truth.

"Ok here's the thing, I was curious to know what you were majoring in, turned out, the same as I, so I looked you up on the school's website and your page displayed your full name. I'm sorry if I come over as stalking, I just wanted to know you I guess... That's also how I got transferred to your class," she added, her eyes cast to the floor.

What was Elsa gonna say ? She might never want to see her again ! She had doomed herself by being too curious, Elsa was definitely gonna walk away on her, who would want to go out with a creep like her ?

But Elsa didn't walk away on her. "What's _your_ full name ?"

Anna fiddled with her hands as she smiled shyly, for like the first time in forever. "Annabeth Sarah Mason."

At first Elsa was still. Then started giggling, then she started laughing, really hard. Anna frowned confused. "Geez, Elsa is that so funny ?"

Elsa settled back down, she wiped away a tear. "No, no ! It's just that... well, I can't really picture that really sophisticated name with... well _you_ "

Anna laughed along. "Right !"

"Oh, and both of our names end with 'Beth'," Elsa smiled.

That's true, Anna realised. She grinned. Another reason to like Elsa even more. The blonde brushed Anna's hair out of her face. "I like you full name, how come you don't use that one ?"

"I thought it was too long. I liked the name Anna better because it's shorter and cooler, in my opinion," she shrugged.

Elsa sighed content. "You're such a dork. But a cute dork !" She jumped up. "Come on, let's grab some dinner, this date isn't over yet !"


	5. Chapter V

Chapter 5. 'Freaking Romeo on his way to Juliet.'

* * *

It was easter and the students had a week off. Elsa went home, with a lot of fear and dread, and so did Anna. She mentioned that she wanted to got with Elsa to confront her parents about their behaviour and her father's violence, cause that clearly was out of line, but Elsa had brushed it off. She seemed uncomfortable and said they better spent some time apart to see where this was going.

It shocked Anna.

She thought Elsa and her would have a chance in dating each other but the other girl seemed frightened and a little hesitant about the whole idea. On the other hand, Elsa was probably scared as hell because Anna knew about her violent father and the fact that he didn't approve of the red head didn't help either. She didn't want to upset him now so she told Anna to just wait for the right moment. The first two days, Anna didn't hear anything of Elsa. She didn't call, didn't reply to messages and didn't answer her phone. Anna got restless, she needed to see if she was doing ok. She needed to know if Elsa was doing alright, and she needed to know if they had a chance or that Elsa just wanted to be friends.

"Honey, why don't you go pay her a surprise visit then ?" her mother asked. "She'll love it, I'm sure."

Anna highly doubted it, since Elsa really didn't want her parents to know about their relationship, but she felt that it was important and so the next day, she headed to Elsa's home. Her house was located in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods, the whole area was protected with a gate ! That didn't stop our feisty pants, she simply climbed over it and walked towards the huge white mansion that was Elsa's house.

She grinned when she saw a window covered with paper snowflakes on the first floor. That must be Elsa's room, she thought. She walked up the porch and rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, a man opened up. He was dressed in a blue suit and a slim black tie. He looked handsome. But Anna knew better and already disliked the so nice and innocent looking man. So he's the one who beats up his own daughter, she thought pissed off.

"Yes ?" He asked nicely. Probably Elsa's _'dear daddy'_... Anna thought grim.

Inside of her, a voice screamed to punch this man in the face, he didn't deserve formalities, and especially not from her ! But she wanted to make a good first impression and so she just cleared her throat, concealed her anger towards him, and what he had done to her precious Snowflake, and introduced herself.

"Hi. I'm Anna. I'm here to see Snowfl-... uh, Elsa ?"

The man frowned as his lips pursed. Elsa does that too.. she thought. The man spoke. "Elsa is not available today. Goodbye." He started closing the door.

Well, she can decide that for her own, now can't she, Anna thought angrily. She pushed the door open, to dismay of the man. "Wait !" she said. "It's urgent. Please ? It doesn't have to be long, just a few minutes, yes ?"

The man shook his head. "No. Elsa is busy."

Anna didn't buy it, Elsa _always_ had time for her. She pushed the door open again, this time furious. "Sir, please ?!" Why does everyone get to decide for Elsa ? Can't she decide for herself. The man growled.

"Listen," he said. "My daughter doesn't want to be bothered. So why don't you just get the _fuck_ off my property or I'll call the cops ! Understood ?" He turned around and slammed his door shut in front of her face.

"Seriously ? I cannot believe this !" The red head was beside herself. She stomped on the ground and crossed her arms. Behind her, the door was slammed shut. Great, she was shut out. She turned around to take on last look at Elsa's window. Then an idea popped up in her head. She smirked.

* * *

Elsa was in her room minding her own business. She was drawing snowflakes for Anna while studying for upcoming tests. She did hear the doorbell but thought it was some sort of salesman since her father said something about the cops, so she didn't bother to look out of the window to see who it was. Then, she heard him running up the stairs and barging into her room. She jolted in her chair. He was breathing heavily like a mad man, face as read as a tomato while his whole body screamed anger.

"Tell me who that was," he demanded.

Elsa frowned. How could she know ? "W-w- who do you mean, father ?" she asked startled.

He squeezed his eyes. "Don't play games with me, Elsa. Tell me who that was ? That girl, pig tails, red hair, freckles, like _a lot_. What was her name again ? Anne, Annie ?"

The blonde's eyes went wide when she realised who rang the doorbell. Anna was here ? She bit her lip, thinking of an answer. "You mean Anna ?" Knowing that her father would not approve of Anna, she immediately thought of an excuse. "She was probably going to ask me something about the assignment. She always does that." Elsa smiled dreamily.

"Well, I told her you were busy. You don't need friends to keep you off your work," her father said curt. "I don't want to see her again, understood ?"

Elsa nodded reluctantly. Going against him now would basically be asking for an early death, the fact that he beat her up last time they talked about a girl warned her enough that she just had to obey him this time. She didn't want to end up with those painful bruises again.

Elsa fell on her bed and grimaced. Her parents didn't approve of her having a social life, they said it kept her from her goal, which was becoming rich and successful. Having friends only distracted her and that was the last thing she needed. Elsa sighed. She never had any friends, having Anna was the best thing that could happen to her. Why didn't her parents see that ? She was a lonely child, even though she had Jay.

Jay never wanted to do anything with her. She had no playmate, no one to talk to beside her parents or Gerda, no one to ask advice, no one. Their parents were never home, leaving the house early in the morning, only to return late in the evening. Gerda was the only one who looked after her, every once in a while. Jay never cared for her. Elsa did care for her sister, but Jay only pushed her away and so after a while, Elsa just stopped putting effort into helping the young girl, but she never stopped caring. They were sisters after all.

Both girls never really had a childhood, careless and free. They had to take care of themselves, Elsa had to behave like a good girl so that her dad wouldn't beat her up whenever he got the chance, Jay tried to be as Elsa but her parents didn't see it and so she became the complete opposite. Gerda had helped the girls out a lot and they both were eternally grateful for the elder woman, even though they showed it both differently. And even though she belonged to an upperclass family, Elsa didn't have the life of a snotty rich girl, she had to work hard while maintaining her good grades, she simply couldn't afford to have friends.

Elsa brushed her fingers over her wall. The texture was rough but familiar.

Anna was different. Anna was the first who really noticed her. She was the first who really wanted to become friends with her. She was the one with whom Elsa could be herself and not be embarrassed about it. Anna was special. She was kind, good hearted, sweet and funny. She was clumsy, sloppy, noisy, awkward and goofy. She was her and she was perfect in every way. How did she end up with the beautiful red head. She did nothing to deserve her. She was shy, didn't talk to people, preferred to be alone. She was awkward, she was ghostly pale and nobody liked her. Or so she thought, because there was Anna again.

Beautiful sweet Anna.

Elsa closed her eyes as she thought of Anna's face. The freckles on her nose and cheeks were adorable. Her lively green eyes stood out and always seemed happy. The smirk playing on her lips was cheerful and her laughter sounded like the birds chirping. There was one thing her parents never could take away from her, and that was her love for the red head. She turned on her side and curled up in foetus position. She closed her eyes and dozed off, dreaming about a certain girl with freckles and pig tails.

* * *

Elsa woke up a few hours later. It was already dark. She hadn't eaten and her stomach growled. A rule of the house was, take care for your own, if that means you don't eat, then you don't eat. Simple as that. She sat up and scratched her head, doubting if she should go downstairs to eat or not. A sudden noise came from her window and she jolted.

 _Tic...Tic, tac, tic... Tac, tac_.

She slowly crawled out of bed and walked to the window. She peered through it to see what it was. On the lawn was a dark figure that was waving and jumping up and down. Elsa grabbed her flashlight and opened her window. The light caught a smiling freckled face and pig tails. Anna ! The blonde gasped. "Anna ?! What in the world..." She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Anna whispered loudly. "Elsa, help me get up. Your father refused to open the door for me. I rang like a dozen times !"

Elsa giggled. She motioned for Anna to climb up the house using a wooden frame that was supposed to hold up the plants. Anna started climbing and complained about how impossible this was and that she looked like freaking Romeo, on his way to Juliet. Elsa liked that concept very much. When the red head was almost there, the blonde pulled her in and immediately hugged her.

"You're crazy, you know that !" she giggled.

Anna dug her face in Elsa's neck. She had missed the scent, even though they'd only been separated for a few days. "Oh _Anna_ , thank thou for thou noble act to save a damsel in distress, for risking thou life for this gorgeous snowflake ! Of course, Elsa. I _loved_ climbing the wall, I _loved_ the wet plants in my face !" she joked.

They broke apart and Anna let her eyes roam the room. It wasn't a large one, more similar to the one she had on campus. The walls were white and empty, there was only one desk standing in the corner and a wardrobe. A two person bed with light pink sheets was located on the other side of the room. There were no decorations whatsoever. The only thing that was decorated were the windows with the snowflakes. Anna fell on Elsa's bed.

"I uh, I like your room. I mean, it's a lot different than your dorm room cause that one's super cozy with the christmas lights and stuff and well, you know, I'm sorry, I'll shut up," Anna mumbled, realising this was going nowhere and would probably embarrass Elsa.

The blonde rubbed her arm. "Father doesn't like it when I decorate. He says it'll distract me from my work."

Anna sat up. "Yeah, what was that with your dad ? All I wanted was to see you and he threatened me by calling the cops ?!"

Elsa bit her lip. "He's very... protective, I guess." She hesitated, she shouldn't say something bad about her father, he only wanted the best for her and she had to respect that. "He just wants what's best for me..."

"Yeah, by beating you up every once in a while !" Anna spat, not at Elsa, but still. She saw that Elsa tensed up and immediately covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry, Elsa, I just can't see you getting hurt, knowing it's your own father doing it. We have to do something, sooner or later !" she said stern. "And I will help you, ok"

"Please, not now, not here," Elsa pleaded.

Anna nodded. "Ok, but we have to talk about it later then."

Elsa bit her lip when her stomach growled again. An idea popped up in her head. "Do you want something to eat ? We have smørbrød* or chocolate ice cream !"

Deciding to let the painful subject go, Anna jumped up. "Holy shit, yasss totally going for ice cream !"

They sneaked downstairs and headed to the kitchen, it was a huge one, white marble, clean and spotless. Anna stood on the lookout while Elsa opened the freezer and searched for a huge bucket of ice.

"Ehm... Elsa ?" Anna suddenly asked. "Who is she ?" She pointed at Jay.

Elsa's heart went up her throat. "That's uh... my younger sister, Jay. Jay, that's.. Anna."

Jay's eyes grew wide when she realised what her sister was doing, her nerdy, neat freak sister. Then she composed herself and crossed her arms before her chest. "Elsa, you're sneaking in a girl and you're stealing ice cream ?!" she said with the loudest voice she could manage.

Elsa laid her index against her lips. "Jay shush, mother and father could hear us !"

"I'm gonna tell them," Jay suddenly blurted.

"No you won't," Anna interfered. Jay blinked confused. The red head continued. "You're gonna eat ice with us and then you'll go to your own room to get some decent sleep." She grabbed both girls by their arms and dragged them upstairs.

Elsa quickly locked her door.

Anna handed Jay a spoon and started digging into the ice herself. "Eat Jay, you'll love it,"sShe said with her mouth full of the ice.

Elsa giggled as she started eating herself. To her surprise, Jay joined them. The three of them were now sitting on the ground with the bucket of ice in the middle of them. They silently ate as the moon lit up the room. Anna grinned at Jay. "You don't look like Elsa at all," she stated upon noticing her black hair.

Jay nodded. "I used to have pale blonde hair too. People said I started to look like Elsa, and so I changed my hair colour and they stopped saying it. I mean, who wants to look like their sister ?!"

Elsa bit her lip, she proceeded to eat her ice as if she didn't care. Anna noticed it.

"Well, I'd _kill_ to look like Elsa."

Jay frowned. Anna continued.

"I mean, have you _seen_ your sister ? She's beautiful with that blonde hair and those big eyes. With her cute black glasses and her red lips. But there is more, she's sweet, funny, kind, good hearted, _incredibly_ shy but that only makes her even more adorable than she already is," the red head sighed. "If people said I look like Elsa, I'd take it as a compliment."

And for the first time in forever, Jay fell silent.

Elsa grinned. She laid her hand over Anna's shoulder and pulled her in a short hug. Anna smiled and changed the subject. "So, Jay. Are you in school right now ?"

Jay shook her head. "No. I'm working for a year. I wanna study but I'm not sure what."

"What are your interests ?"

Elsa looked at Anna with a hint of jealousy. Anna made the conversation seem so smooth and relaxed and Jay seemed to be fine with it as well. Why could she never talk to her sister normally ? Elsa wondered while silently eating her ice.

"Well I like music. Hip hop, R&B, rock, metal," Jay summed up.

"Try applying for the University of arts, they have a huge department dedicated to electronic music, I think you might like that," Anna smiled.

Jay's eyes lit up. "That sound epic, thanks Anna !"

The girls silently finished their ice cream. Anna sent Jay back to her own room. To Elsa's surprise, her sister did not argue, she just left after thanking for the ice cream. "Hey, it's not me you have to thank. It's not my ice cream !" Anna said as she pointed at Elsa. "Thank your sister."

"Thanks Elsa," Jay said shyly. Then she closed the door softly.

Anna fell down on the bed, sighing deeply. "Maaannn, that was the best chocolate ice I've ever had !" She stretched while rubbing her full stomach.

Elsa fell down next to her. She smiled, even though it was completely dark and Anna probably wouldn't see it. "Thank you for talking to my sister."

"No probs ! She's totally cool !"

"Well, we aren't that close to be honest."

"Yeah, I noticed. Don't worry, you just have to see past that I'm-so-cool-I-can-do-everything-see-me-doing-this facade. Behind that lays someone who's probably feeling really vulnerable and shy maybe, in that case she does look like you."

"But... But I have the feeling that she hates me."

"Nah," Anna waved it off. "She's just really in conflict with herself. She loves you, you can see it. She might not show it but she really does look up to you. I mean, you're her older sister, you are cool, you're already studying, living alone, doing grown up stuff."

She kissed Elsa's cheek when she noticed that the blonde still was hesitating about it. "Elsa, believe me, the way she looked at you when you were eating your ice cream, the way she looked when at you when she thanked you, that's how sisterly love looks like. She loves you, Elsa, there's no denying in that."

* * *

In the hallway, Jay had been eaves dropping on her sister and her friend all along. She bit her lip when she heard Anna's words about sisterly love. She slowly walked back to her own bedroom and fell down on her bed. Come on, she thought annoyed, it was _Elsa_ Anna was talking about. Then she frowned, why did she hate her sister exactly ? She couldn't come up with a good reason.

Elsa was just so distant and closed off. She was never in the mood for parties and fun. She was just so... so boring ? Jay sighed. But she did cry when her father beat her sister up. She _did_ feel something when she saw her sister's bleeding lip and her face full of pain because her ribs were probably severely bruised. She felt guilt. Why didn't she stand up for Elsa ? Why didn't she help her sister ? Maybe because she was afraid that if she started to help Elsa, she would get beat up too. But it was wrong. While she could take a few beats, Elsa clearly could not. She was already on the fragile side, if those punches would be a bit harder, she would end up getting some broken bones for sure. Jay was just... confused. Were those feelings she had, about her sister, a sign of love ? That feeling of wanting to protect her sister from their father ? That feeling of not wanting to let Elsa get hurt because she didn't deserve it ? They _were_ sisters after all, maybe she should give Elsa a chance. Anna seemed really fond of her...

Jay didn't bother to change into her night clothes. She was just so tired, she wanted to go to sleep immediately. She grinned when she decided to not tell their parents about their ice cream party, it had been fun after all.

* * *

Elsa and Anna just laid on Elsa's bed for a while, listening to each other's breathing. It was relaxing, and for the first time in forever, Elsa felt complete. She liked having Anna next to her, knowing she was not alone, that there was someone who cared for her and who wanted to visit her in the middle of the night to eat ice cream. She felt excited and happy, for once. She felt like a fresh summer evening. She felt like a cooling bath after a hard day of work. She felt like the bees in the air and the flowers on the earth. Her chest fluttered and her stomach tickled. A smile crept on her face as her hand searched for Anna's. She found it quickly, it was warm and cool at the same time. It was soft but firm at the same time. It was perfect. Anna's breathing was calm and soothing. Elsa found great comfort in it.

"Hey Snowflake ?"

"Hmmm ?"

"What are you gonna wear for the ball ?"

Elsa shot up. "What ?!" she exclaimed.

Anna chuckled. "There is a ball, silly, the Annual Winter Ball ?"

"Oh my god, Anna seriously," Elsa sighed. "That's in seven months or something, no one has even gotten invitations yet."

"But you are gonna go, right ?"

"I don't know."

"You have to. You'll look beautiful in a dress ! I'll take you if you want, I'll even dance with you, even though I can't really dance."

Elsa grinned. "I can't dance either."

"But... you are going right ?"

"Are you ?"

"Well, yeah, it'd be fun, I think. And you should see me, it'll be one of the very rare occasions I'll be in a dress, you don't wanna miss that, do you ?" Anna teased.

"No, I don't," Elsa finally gave in. "Alright. But under one condition."

"And that is ?"

"You won't get to see what I'm gonna wear, until the night itself," Elsa smirked, oh how she loved to tease Anna back.

Anna gasped. "What ? But... but... but I wanna pick out dresses with you !"

"Well, we can pick out _your_ dress, but you won't get to see mine," she received a poke from the red head.

"Fine. If I can't see yours, then you can't see mine either."

Elsa giggled. "Alright then."

Adorable Anna. She always managed to make her smile. She was a positive person to hang around with. She enlightened the atmosphere. She was... great. For a split second, Elsa hesitated, should she tell Anna how she felt now ? Maybe not, Anna may find it to go too quickly, she may want to take it slow. Or maybe she would be happy, happy that Elsa told her about her feelings... Elsa bit her lip. She had to, Anna wasn't scary.

"Hey feisty pants," she whispered. She heard Anna chuckle. Elsa continued.

"Anna, y-y... just listen to me, ok ?

From the moment you returned my notebook, you've been too kind and sweet to me. I don't know why you even _like_ me but I really appreciate it that you want to hang out with me. I don't know why I can't really talk to people, besides you. You... you are so special, you are so beautiful. Whenever I'm with you... I feel like I'm free, free of anything. Free of time, perhaps. I just love to be with you, I love the thought of you... I love _you_."

There, she had finally said it. Next to her, she heard Anna gasp.

Then Anna moved closer to her and kissed her on her forehead. "Oh Elsa, I'm so proud of you. I love you too ! I love you so much ! Please be my girlfriend," she was sobbing, not from sadness but from joy.

Elsa started sobbing too. "Yes, yes of course I want to be your girlfriend. Be mine too," she whispered while she hugged her favourite person in the whole world.

Anna buried her head in Elsa's neck and nodded.

"I'll be your feisty pants girlfriend," she promised.

They stayed in this position until the sun started to come up and drove the darkness away. By the time Elsa woke up, Anna had already left the room the same way she had entered it. On her window was a note.

 _'My gorgeous Snowflake, I'm at home. Meet me at 6pm tonight at Oaken's restaurant, you know, that one next to the bookshop you like ? It's a date ! Love you ! XXX Your feisty pants Anna.'_

Elsa smiled as she stared out of her window into the distance. She dreamily pulled her hair in an up do and headed for a nice hot shower. She was already looking out for tonight.

* * *

 ***Smørbrød** is a Norwegian open sandwich. It contains two slices of bread and you pile the meat and gravy on top of the second slice. There is also a filling in between that can consist of lettuce, tomatoes, fish and cheese. It's delicious.


	6. Chapter VI

Chapter 6. 'I just walked off.'

* * *

Anna was walking out of class. She walked alone. This morning, Elsa had texted her, saying she felt ill and wouldn't be coming to class today. It had been a bit of a bummer but Anna decided to visit her when she was free and the thought of taking care of a sick Elsa cheered her up. She walked around the corner when someone shouted her name. Surprised, she turned around, a handsome, blonde guy walked up to her. Anna's heart dropped in her shoes. Kristoff. What the hell was he doing here ? Wasn't he supposed to be with his girlfriend ? She decided not to show him her broken heart, besides, being with Elsa was healing it already. She put a fake smile on her face and waved at him.

"Anna !" He was out of breath. "I-I.. I saw you walking and I was wondering..." He rubbed his neck. "How are you ?"

"I'm ok. Could have been better but hey, that's life. H-how are you ?"

He smiled a weak smile. "I'm doing fine. I'll probably fail this year, is all."

Anna's eyes grew wide. "You'll _fail_ this year ? Are you sure ? You were always the big brains of the two of us !"

Kristoff shrugged. "It's alright, I guess."

"No," Anna pointed a finger at him. "You will not fail. You are gonna study and try hard. I know you can do it !"

He smiled and frowned. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"That's alright, you're were probably just having a meltdown. I would have one too if I heard there was a possibility of not succeeding this year," Anna shrugged.

"I wasn't talking about this," Kristoff said. "It's just... " he sighed deeply and looked her in the eyes. "...I'm really sorry, for everything."

Tears welled up in Anna's eyes. He had _finally_ apologised to her, _finally_ recognised his mistake. It wasn't like nothing had happened from now on, but there was a beginning. "No, no, it's ok. I completely understand. You have your own life, go live it ! I have mine."

Kristoff stepped closer. "May- May I hug you ?" he stuttered and looked embarrassed.

Anna smiled as the big, young man embraced her small body. "It was a nice friendship. It really was."

Kristoff pulled apart, looking confused. "It _was_ a nice friendship ? You mean we're no longer friends ?"

"Well no, you basically ditched me completely when you fell in love with Giselle, it's not that you wanted to try to stay friends with me, Kristoff," Anna crossed her arms.

"You just walked away after I introduced Giselle to you ! She's very nice, she wanted to get to know you better ! She said she owed you because you kind of made me who I am today !"

"You were _kissing_ her ! In front of my eyes ! And it wasn't the short one, it was that long one where you use your tongue and share saliva and stuff and it looks gross and-... whatever, you kissed her and it didn't look like you were gonna stop anytime soon, so yeah, I just walked off," Anna defended herself.

"I tried to call you afterwards but you just ignored me ! You ignored all of my messages ! Don't entirely blame this on me !" He threw his hands in the air out of frustration.

Anna started to cry.

"I've tried ! Believe me, I've tried," she sobbed.

She thought of all those moments where she was alone, thinking of him. Her best friend, who had dropped her like sack of potatoes. She had tried to forgive him multiple times, telling herself he was happy now and she should be happy for him too, but she couldn't. She couldn't forgive him. Their friendship meant everything to her, and he seemed like he didn't care one bit. So yes, she entirely blamed it on him.

Anna sighed deeply, she was just so tired, she needed to go to that one person who would love her no matter what, and who wouldn't leave her for someone else. She needed to see that beautifully pale face with those gorgeous blue eyes. She needed to smell her scent, a scent she recognised out of a million. She needed to feel that cool body and those soft, delicate hands. She needed to kiss those soft, delicious lips. She needed Elsa now more than ever.

" _Forget it,_ Kristoff," she spat. "I'm happy that you've found love in your life, I really am. Because if you hadn't ditched me, I would never have found the love of _my_ life."

She turned around on her heels. "So, goodbye, I guess." She didn't turn around when he shouted her name. She didn't listen when he pleaded her to come back. She turned around the corner and started running to Elsa's room.

"Elsa ! Open up !" Anna slammed on the door. She heard some shuffling and something falling over before the door was unlocked. A pale girl with dark rings under her eyes and a bright red nose opened the door. The sight was so relieving and welcoming that Anna almost instantly fell into the taller girl's arms. She started sobbing.

"A-anna !" Elsa exclaimed while dragging a hysterical red head inside. "Sweetie, what's wrong ?!"

"I ran into Kristoff today ! And he was being a total ass !"

Elsa dragged them onto her bed and covered the sheets over the two of them. She pulled Anna close to her and kissed the top of her head. She smiled, this time she would be there to comfort Anna. This time it wasn't about herself, it was about her girlfriend. She rubbed Anna's shoulder and whispered.

"Go on, tell me everything. I'll listen."

* * *

A few weeks went by and school was becoming hectic. Elsa was stressful and Anna was just exhausted of everything. They studied hard and passed most of their exams. In their spare time, they often found themselves walking through the park or the forrest or watching a movie in Elsa's room. Elsa didn't say much but Anna kept their conversations going. Elsa was a good listener, Anna was a great speaker. They ate corndogs and drank ice tea. They had a lot of snowball fights and a lot of cuddle times. It happened a lot that Anna stayed the night at Elsa's.

Sleeping with Anna was quite an adventure, Elsa had found out. First, the girl didn't need a lot of sleep so every night, when they got into bed, she kept on talking for another two hours. Elsa, who really did need her sleep, tried to stay awake but could feel her eyelids constantly drooping. Second, when Anna would finally fall asleep, she would move, a lot. She even pushed Elsa out of her own bed once ! Third was that Anna talked in her sleep, which was really funny. Elsa would ask all kinds of questions and get weird answers back. She even recorded a few.

 _'Anna, you're talking again.'_ The recording said. _'Hmmm yeah aahhh... damn girl you're hoooottt.'_ Anna's voice answered. _'Dreaming about me ?'_ Elsa chuckled. _'Nooooo, about this gorgeous girl... she's so beautiful... but so far away...' 'Ouch ! Anna !'_ Anna had just slapped her. Elsa pulled her in an embrace. _'I'm gonna play this when we wed.'_

The recording stopped.

Sleeping with Elsa was nothing but heavenly. Really. Anna looked forward to the night every day she spent with her Snowflake. First, Elsa was really cool to lay against. Her smooth, cool skin was a treat to Anna's own heated body. Whenever her pillow was too hot, she just used Elsa's body as pillow, it worked fine.

Second, Elsa was a gorgeous sleeper. Anna found herself often awake staring at the angelic form of the sleeping beauty. The moon light caught her good features and lit up her long eyelashes. Her mouth was mostly turned a bit upwards and her chest went up and down with each breath. Anna often laid her head on Elsa's chest to listen to her steady heartbeat. It was one of the best heartbeats she had ever heard. She would sneak her hand under Elsa's shirt and trace her soft, bare skin lightly. She loved the feeling of the moving ribs under the palm of her hand and often accompanied it by toying with the loose blonde strands of hair on Elsa's forehead. She told Elsa hundreds of stories she could think of. She told Elsa everything she felt she had to say, even though the girl was asleep. Maybe her unconscious brain would remember it somehow one day.

 _'You're so beautiful when you sleep.' 'I know you can't hear me but know that I'm really happy to have you in my life, I'm happier than I've ever been. And I will always make sure that you're happy. Your happiness above all, even mine.' 'You're so special, please don't change.' 'Hey Els, I know a story, wanna hear it ?' 'Probably not cause you're asleep... I'll tell it anyways. Here we go.'_

Third _,_ Anna always woke up to see Elsa's face or at least feel Elsa's arm wrapped around her body. Elsa's tired but clear eyes and a tiny smile on her soft lips was the best thing to wake up in the early mornings, Anna had found out. Yeah, sleeping with Elsa was nothing but heavenly.

* * *

It was an early morning and both girls were exhausted. The finals were approaching quickly and everybody was stressed out. The girls decided to start the morning with a cup of hot cacao while Elsa studied. Anna procrastinated her homework and watched how Elsa was scribbling down notes. A question suddenly popped into her mind. "Hey Snowflake." Anna started. "Do you love me ?" It was a simple question.

Elsa frowned as she was busy preparing for a presentation. The tip of her tongue stuck out her mouth as she was concentrated.

Anna poked her arm. "Els ! I asked something !"

The blonde let out an irritated sound, she proceeded to write.

Anna poked harder. "Elsa, this is important !"

"What ?!"

The red head frowned, Elsa seemed to be not in her right mind, maybe she should drop the matter and come back on it later. But she wanted to know. "Do you love me ?"

"What's that for stupid question, of course I do," Elsa sighed.

"May I know why ?"

Elsa laid down her pen and looked Anna in the eyes. She cupped her face and smiled. "Because you're sweet, kind, gentle, clumsy, awkward, feisty, funny, blunt, loud and beautiful," she answered.

Anna sighed satisfied. Then, another question popped up in her mind. "Hey Snowflake ?" She received a soft 'hmmmff' from Elsa and so she continued. "Do you love yourself ?"

Elsa kept on being focussed on her paper.

"Elsie ?" Anna laid her head on Elsa's papers, forcing Elsa to stop. The blonde pouted. Cute. "Elsa, do you love yourself ?" Anna asked again, this time serious.

The girl frowned. A vague 'yeah' escaped her lips.

"May I ask why ?"

Elsa bit her lip and fiddled with her braid. An antic that informed Anna that Elsa was getting nervous. She didn't care, she had to know if the girl loved herself.

"Snowflake, I asked you something."

"I don't want to answer that."

"Why not ? It's as simple as the previous, only a different person."

Elsa tried to push Anna's head off her desk, she didn't succeed. She really didn't want to answer that question, she really didn't.

"Elsie, please, I have to know. If you don't love yourself, then how can you love me ?"

The blonde frowned. "You know I love you," she said curt.

"Yeah, but do you love _you_ ?" Anna asked again. And again, receiving no answer. She decided to change her tactic. "Answer the question, Elsa," she now demanded.

"I don't need to answer that ! I don't need to answer anything you ask, I don't have to _obey_ you ! You're not my father !" Elsa suddenly snapped and slammed her hands on her desk to sympathise her words. She stood up and started pacing around the room. She was basically throwing a tantrum.

Anna jumped up too. "Yes and I'm glad I'm not your father !" she shouted. Was Elsa seriously going this way ?

"Your father is not what fathers are supposed to be, they're supposed to be supporting of their kids, kind, sweet and caring. Your father is cold, and abusive, he hurts you and you won't do anything about it..." she mumbled.

The blonde gasped. "Don't you dare talk about my father like that, you, you, you _brat_ !"

Hurt reflected in Anna's eyes. She was just called a brat ? Seriously, out of all the other insults Elsa could have chosen, she chose the word brat ? She was not a brat, she was not. Anna blinked her tears away, deep down there she knew that Elsa didn't mean it. She was just upset and said things she shouldn't. Deciding to drop the father subject, she tried to turn into another direction.

"Hey ! I'm not the one who brought him in ! You keep avoiding answering the question because you're afraid of what I'll say, aren't you ?!"

"Oh you're just so full of crap !" Elsa shrieked as she crossed her arms in front of her defiantly.

Anna was balding her fists and stomped around like a madman.

" _I'm_ full of crap ?! _I'm_ full of crap ?! _I_ try to make you happy, _I_ try to do the best for you, _I_ try to show you that I care about you, and what do I get in return ? Nothing but cold stares ! I thought you were making progress but who am I fooling. You won't change." She bit her lip, she shouldn't have pushed Elsa. Now they were fighting, like weird couples did, not them ! They never fought, so why now ?

"Well at least I'm not trying to _befriend_ everyone I meet !" the blonde spat.

"No, you're not trying to befriend _anyone_ !" Anna returned.

"You don't know _who_ you're talking to !"

"Oh and I suppose _you_ do ?!"

Elsa adverted her eyes. She didn't know too, but would she admit it ? In front of Anna ? Hell no.

"I _do_ know who I'm talking to," said Anna, now softly. She walked closer to Elsa.

"I'm talking to a _strong_ person, with her own opinion, and that's good ! I'm talking to a _smart_ person, who isn't manipulated that easy and who thinks of her own. I'm talking to a _sweet_ girl, sweet but damn is she stubborn at times !"

Elsa let out a puff. Anna continued as she could almost touch Elsa now.

"I'm talking to a _beautiful_ girl, who doesn't see her beauty herself and who thinks she's worth zero. But you're not, you're worth as much as anyone here walking the earth and you _know_ it. I'm talking to a girl who wants to sleep early but tries to stay awake for me because I have so many things to tell. I'm talking to a girl who fiddles with her braid and bites her lip when nervous. I'm talking to a girl who works hard for anything that is important to her, and I couldn't have been prouder of you. _I know_ who I'm talking to, Elsa. The question is if you know it too."

She could finally hug the blonde without getting pushed away. She let out a sigh of relief. In her arms, Elsa let out a sob as she sunk down to her knees.

"I'm such a terrible person, I called you a _brat_ , Anna ! A brat ! You're nothing like a brat ! You're not spoiled, you don't have an accent and you don't wear pink dresses with curls and ribbons in your hair ! Why did I call you a brat ? W-w-.. I'm a terrible human being !" Elsa wailed.

"I know you didn't mean it, and you're not a terrible person," Anna kissed Elsa's wet cheek. She looked deep into the soaked clear blue orbs and smiled sadly. "You're so beautiful, _God_ , you're so beautiful," she sighed. "If only you could believe it."

"I- I'm nothing but a burden to you..." Elsa whispered as she rubbed her arm. She did not dare to look the red head in the eyes, afraid of being turned down ? Humiliated ? Loved ?

Anna frowned. How could she think that ? She wasn't a burden, she wasn't too much, she wasn't _not_ worth it. She was everything, she was important, important to the world, important to Anna. She meant the _world_ to Anna, and seeing her think about herself like this, hurt Anna more than her own pain. She cupped Elsa's face with her hands.

"Listen," she said sternly.

"You aren't too much. You have the right to exist. You are beautiful and unique in your own way. You are worth everything. Don't think about yourself as bad, you have every right to be alive as I have. Your parents just don't know better. And your father is wrong to treat you the way he does, but that's _his_ mistake, not yours. Don't live in two worlds, honey. When you're with me, you're truly yourself but when you're at school or in another environment, you become completely invisible, shut off. You can't continue living like this. Please don't conceal your feelings, you need to show them. To me ! I know that you want change, but you don't know where to start. I could help you, you know ? If you just let me in."

She could see that Elsa was trying to hold her tears in. Upon this sight, she started crying herself. "You aren't depressed now, but if you continue like this, you will. I care for you, I want to see you happy. Don't you want the _same_ ?"

Elsa blinked away her tears. "Do you think that I _like_ to be like I am now ? Do you think that this is fun for me ? Of course I want to be happy. Happiness is from within, but how can I be when I'm dead inside ?" she argued, the tears were now visibly falling from her eyes.

"You're not dead inside, Elsa, I've seen people who are dead inside and compared to them, you're like a clown running through ugly flower fields while throwing around candy and singing Let it go !" Anna sighed, back to serious now. "My dear Snowflake, you have built strong defence wall around you, so strong that no one can get in, _or_ out. That's the problem. Elsa, you _need_ to start breaking that wall apart. Soon, it'll work against you !"

"How am I going to do that ? I don't know where to start ?!"

Anna wiped away Elsa's tears lovingly. "By opening your door," she answered. "Let me in. That wall is there to protect yourself from something. It's been there for so long now, it's time that that thing goes. You are a truly amazing person inside and that person needs to come out."

Elsa sniffed. She bit her lip and hugged her knees. Anna laid her arm around the blonde's shoulder and pressed her against her own body.

"I got you. I'll take care of you." She said. "You don't have to do this on your own. We're gonna defeat your fears together !"

They would work on it, Anna decided. She could help Elsa in over coming her fear and by helping Elsa, she might help herself in over coming her own fears. At least they would be together. And they would make it, with the love of each other. She knew it. Elsa pulled Anna into a tight embrace. Anna smiled. She knew that Elsa was willing to try, more than willing.

The blonde kissed her on the cheek. "You are a _good_ person, Anna. Don't let _anyone_ tell you different."

* * *

Elsa stopped by the house during the weekend. She needed to pick up some supplies for school. Her parents were sadly home too, so was Jay. Elsa walked straight pass them and went to collect her stuff before she would dash out of the huge mansion again. As she was busy in her room, Jay came standing against her door frame. She was sucking on a lollypop.

"D-d.. Does it still hurt ?" she asked shyly.

Elsa looked up. Her sister actually spoke to her, no stabbing comments, no insults, nothing, she just asked her something ! "Does what hurt ?"

"Y-your... bruises..." Jay blushed, of shame maybe.

"Uh," Elsa didn't know what to answer for a split second. Jay never asked how she was. Could this be a trick ? Was she going to hurt her too ? Although she had never hurt her physically, she had hurt her plenty times emotionally. She decided to give it a shot and tell Jay honestly how she was feeling. If Jay saw that she was trying to be nice, maybe she would try it herself too.

"In the beginning, it hurt really bad. But now it's almost over. The bruises already started to fade."

"I'm sorry," Jay said.

Elsa smiled, it wasn't her fault. "It's ok. There was nothing you could do anyways."

"But it's not _right_. A father isn't supposed to hit his children, and especially not you ! You're not the one smoking pot and going out with boys. You get good grades and, I mean... look at you, you look like an freaking angel. How come he never laid a finger on _me_ ? _I'm_ the rebel here, _I_ should be the one getting punished for it. Not you..." Jay suddenly started sobbing.

The blonde hesitated. Should she comfort her younger sister ? She had never needed to do it before. Then she shrugged and wrapped her sister in a hug. She felt Jay stiffen underneath her, then she relaxed and cried into her older sister.

"It's alright, Jay. I got you."

From a distance, Gerda was watching them through the tiny door opening. She smiled when she saw the girls having a close moment, a sincere moment, as sisters. The old lady descended the stairs with the laundry basket as she whistled a tune while grinning widely.

"Those are _my_ girls." The pride never left her face.

* * *

Elsa walked to the cafeteria to pick up some food for Anna. She waited in line while humming a tune. "Don't stooop... believiiiiing !" A dark haired girl in front of her turned around and smiled.

"Hold onto that feeeeeeling !" she chuckled.

Elsa lifted her eyebrows.

The girl extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Giselle."

 _'Her name's Giselle and he ditched me for her,'_ Anna's voice rang through Elsa's head. Right. _That_ Giselle.

"Hi, I'm Elsa. Nice to meet you."

Giselle's eyes lit up. "That's right ! Elsa !"

Elsa frowned, did this girl know her ?

Giselle giggled. "Forgive me, I'm Kristoff's girlfriend, he used to be friends with your girlfriend, Anna ?"

"Yeah, I remember Anna mentioning the two of you."

The dark haired girl rubbed her head. "I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry. I never meant to break up their friendship." She looked kind of sad.

Elsa immediately softened and placed her hand on Giselle's shoulder. "You don't have to blame yourself. It's alright, it was just a shock to Anna, you know. Her best friend kind of deserted her," she sighed and smiled. "But you don't have any blame in this, ok ? This is just how life goes."

Giselle nodded. "I heard Anna is really nice ! I would love to get to know her sometime."

"Anna is the sweetest girl in the world. If you're her friend, you're like a Saint to her," Elsa chuckled. "Give it time, she'll learn to trust you."

"Thanks Elsa ! You're a really cool person. I believe that you're a good friend for Anna."

Elsa beamed.

A woman called out a dish and Giselle picked up her order.

"Well, I hope to see you again. Bye !"

Elsa smiled as she picked up her own order. She walked back to the class where Anna was waiting for her. The red head ran up to her and grabbed her sandwich to stuff it down her throat.

"I met a cool girl today," Elsa said suddenly and watched Anna almost choke in her own spit.

"You _met_ another person ?! How did you do that ?"

Elsa smiled. "She recognised a song I was singing."

Anna pouted. "You never sing for me !"

"I will, feisty pants, I will one day," Elsa giggled. "Anyways, her name's Giselle."

Anna's jaw fell. The blonde quickly continued. "I know what you're thinking, and I want you to know that she's really not what you think. She's really nice and I think you should get to know her first before you start judging her, she's really cool from what I've seen."

The red head fumed.

Elsa kissed Anna's cheek. "Please, feisty pants, do it for me ?"

Anna melted and kissed her girlfriend on the lips. "I will try," she added quickly. "But only for you."

"Yay !" Elsa cheered. She danced around the room, Anna chuckled.

"Now, will you sing for me ?"


	7. Chapter VII

Chapter 7. 'She's my girlfriend !'

* * *

It had been three months since they started dating. Everybody at their university knew about their relationship and they were all wondering how the kind, bubbly red head ended up with the cold and distant blonde. Often, students would come up to Anna and ask her why in heaven's name she chose Elsa to be her girlfriend, out of everyone ! Anna would then gently smile and tell them that Elsa's soul was pure and fine, and not comparable with any other. They then would raise their eyebrow and walk away, leaving Anna proud to be Elsa's girlfriend. Their second year was wrapping up quickly. The last weeks before the finals were stressful and they studied often together to maintain balance in their relationship.

Elsa was exhausted, Anna noticed, which was normal since she had been working her ass off since the first day on campus. She was proud of the blonde and told her that many times. Elsa then smiled and rewarded her with her delicious kisses. She helped Anna with a lot of her stuff and it was only then, that Anna realised why she was dating Elsa. It wasn't because the blonde was terribly shy or focussed on her work or cold and distant. It was because Elsa rewarded her in the most tiny gestures. She rewarded Anna with kisses that came from her heart. She rewarded Anna with helping her out with her homework. She rewarded her by letting Anna touch her, love her. She rewarded Anna by just being herself and that was all Anna needed.

After the finals, Anna wanted Elsa to meet her family. She knew that this would be a huge step for Elsa so she prepared her for it for weeks now. Elsa seemed to be a little at unease by the thought of it but she nodded bravely because Anna had done so much for her and she loved her. Anna practically jumped up and down when Elsa agreed that they would spent the entire summer vacation at her house.

The afternoon, after the results of the finals had been made publicly and the girls had both gotten enough points to be transferred to their junior year, they would tell Elsa's parents about their plans. Their car ride was silent as Elsa was too nervous to talk about anything. Anna was too busy with her own thoughts. She parked the car and the two of them walked slowly to the big mansion, Elsa hugging her frame and trembling lightly. She looked like she was going to faint at any second now. Anna kissed her cheek. "You'll do wonderful, I know so. And if anything goes wrong, I'll be right beside you."

Elsa unlocked the front door and went to search her parents, she found them in their study, as always. Anna stood next to her as Elsa began her speech. "Mother, father." She started, her parents looked up. "I will be spending the summer holidays with Anna. It's not that you will miss me anyways, I just told you so you would know where I'd be if you would need me, not that you do." She mumbled, fiddling with her braid. Anna rubbed her arm to let her know she did great. Her father frowned as he rubbed his beard.

"I won't have it," he said curt. Her mother nodded in agreement.

Elsa's jaw dropped. "B-b- but you don't have plans for vacation or anything right ? I don't wanna stay home all the time doing nothing, not again !"

Her father stood up. "No Elsa, I told you I don't want to see that girl again. And I certainly don't want you to hang out with her the entire vacation. You'll stay here, as you always did and that's final."

Elsa screwed her eyes shut. She inhaled deeply before she began speaking. "You know father, all these years I let you order me around and hurt me, emotionally _and_ physically. But it's time that I make my own decisions. I'm twenty now, I'm almost an adult and I can choose for my own. I'm going to pack my stuff and there is nothing you can do about it !"

Anna beamed, she was so proud of her girl right now.

Elsa's mother stood up too. "Elsa dear, listen to your father," she said simply. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun, her big eyes looked dark and thin lips were pursed. Anna knew that Elsa looked like her mother, but she wasn't aware of the fact that they could pass as sisters ! The comparison between the two was remarkable, it looked like Elsa was shouting against herself !

It was kinda creepy.

Elsa stomped on the floor. "No ! I will not listen ! You did _nothing_ to support me ! You did _nothing_ to help me ! You just let him beat me up, you let your husband beat up your own daughter ! How could you do that ? How could you ?!" she shrieked. She sighed deeply and composed herself "I don't need advice from both of you now. I have a loving girlfriend and she gives me more love than the two of you have ever done !"

Her father tilted his head, another trade Elsa shared with him. "She is your _girlfriend_ ?" he asked cold. "The only ones you'll be dating, are decent boys, _not girls_ ! And especially not this ... This _child_ !"

He looked at Anna in disgust.

Anna placed her hands on her hips. " _Excuse me ?!_ " she shrieked. "This _child_ does not hurt your daughter. This _child_ has accepted your beautiful daughter for who she is ! Something you haven't done yet !"

Elsa's mother interfered. "Sweetie, you should see Anna out and then retreat to your room. You look exhausted."

The blonde glared at her. "I will pack my bags and then I'm out of here. Is all," she stomped upstairs and started packing her bags. She bumped into Jay, who immediately pulled her in a hug.

"Good for you sis." Was the only thing she said. Then, she left for her own room.

Downstairs, Anna was raging at her parents. She was yelling at Elsa's mother, how unloving she was and how wondrous it was that she had made Elsa who was the embodiment of love itself. She was yelling at Elsa's father how beautiful his daughter was and how he was blind and stupid he was for hurting her and only caring about her career. She was yelling at both of them, saying that Elsa would do what she wished and that no one would stop her. She yelled that she and her family loved Elsa and that she would make her happy no matter what.

When Elsa descended the stairs with her bags, Anna stomped over to her girlfriend, dragged her along and slammed the door shut. Leaving both parents in wonder. Anna wasn't sure if she heard it correctly but she could have sworn that Elsa's mom asked 'who was the red head ?'. She didn't care. Elsa would be staying at her house and she would be happy.

Anna smiled in victory at her girlfriend. Only then she noticed her distress. Tears ran over her cheeks. Anna dropped her smile immediately.

"Hey. What's wrong ?" she asked. "You don't approve of what I did there ?" She felt a slight pang through her chest. Of course Elsa didn't approve. It were her parents Anna had yelled at.

Elsa nodded her head. "I don't deserve you," she sobbed, when Anna hugged her tightly, she started crying hysterically. It broke Anna's heart.

"No," Anna whispered as she rubbed Elsa's back. "You deserve more. You deserve loving and supporting parents. You deserve your grades, because you work hard for them. You deserve the life you wish because you are an honest and beautiful person. I cannot imagine anyone else better than you. You are perfect. And the statement; I don't deserve you, counts for me."

Elsa looked up and shook her head frantically. "NO !" she suddenly shouted. "Y-y- you deserve everything ! You are so kind and sweet. You noticed me, you helped me, you befriended me and you loved me. I- I did nothing to deserve you. You deserve someone who is just like you, loving, kind, friendly, supporting. I didn't... I am not social, I am not friendly, I am not... I am not at all like you," she sobbed. "You're so perfect..."

Anna grabbed Elsa by her face and looked her deep in the eyes.

"You are not at all like me," she said smiling. "That's why I love you. You are completely the opposite of me. But that doesn't mean we don't fit together. I love you for who you are, as long as you stay true to yourself, I don't want anyone else."

She kissed Elsa's lips. They were salty but she didn't mind. God, she loved that woman more than her own. "I'm proud of you, you stood up for yourself."

Elsa hiccuped as they rocked back and forth. Anna shifted but Elsa pulled her closer. She trembled. "P-p- please." She begged. "Please don't let go now."

"I won't. I'll never let you go. And I will never hurt you. I will always stay beside you," the red head promised.

The two of then walked to the front gates where Anna had parked the car. Right before they got in, Elsa looked at the house one last time. She wouldn't see it for the upcoming six months or so. Her eyes automatically went to Jay's room. A figure was standing in front of the window. It was her sister.

She was smiling widely while giving two thumbs up.

* * *

"Are you nervous ?" Anna asked. It wasn't like she had to ask in the first place, Elsa was biting her lip and fiddling with her braid constantly as they were waiting on the porch of Anna's house. Elsa nodded and looked like she was about to throw up. Anna hugged the taller girl tightly and kissed her cheek. "You'll be fine, Elsa," she assured.

The door swung open and the girls were greeted by a woman with short red hair and green glasses on her nose. She smiled. "Anna, you're home !"

They hugged. Elsa was really uncomfortable. Anna pushed Elsa gently forward in her back. "Mom, this is Elsa. Elsa, this is my mom, Stella."

"Pleasure." Elsa whispered as she shook the older woman's hand. But Stella was more than happy to meet her and pulled her into a deep hug, eliciting a small 'oof' from the blonde. Anna jumped up and down from excitement.

"She's my girlfriend !" she shouted and ran inside. Elsa blushed and bit her lip.

Stella chuckled. "That's our Anna, always been straight forward." She grabbed Elsa by the wrist and dragged her gently inside the house. "Come in girl, I have tea and cookies."

They talked, they talked a lot. Well, it was mostly Stella asking questions about where they met, what they did during their spare times, how they were coping and stuff, and Elsa answered them as well as she could, with Anna interfering a lot. Deciding to leave them some time alone to get used to their new situation, Stella excused herself to make some dinner. From the kitchen she could hear Elsa's soft voice asking if Anna's mom was ok with the fact that her daughter was gay. She smiled when she heard her daughter answer that her parents were cool with it, as long as their daughter was happy. Then she heard nothing for a while. Stella placed the dish in the oven and walked back to the living room with some cheese blocks, she found the girls cuddling on the couch. Anna had her arms wrapped around Elsa's waist and her head laid on her chest. Elsa blushed. "She has the weird habit of listening to my heart beat every once in a while."

"When she was a baby, we used to lay her on our chests a lot when it was napping time. I guess that's where she got it from." Stella smiled when Anna moaned in content.

"Mom, Elsa has the best heart beat in the world. So steady and secure !"

"I hope you're comfortable with Anna on your chest, you really have to get used to her quirks." She chuckled. "Dinner will be ready in forty minutes. Why don't you show your new girlfriend the rest of the house, Anna ?" She suggested.

When the girls had gone off to bed, Stella informed her husband about their first meeting. "John." She said as she put on her nightwear. He answered with a 'hmmm' as he was reading an article. Stella crawled into their bed. "She's lovely." She said while playing with her husband's hair. John didn't look up. "Is she ?" He asked. Stella grinned and pulled away his iPad. She grabbed him by the side of his head and turned him to hers, their eyes met. "She's perfect for our Anna." She smiled. He kissed her. "I'm glad to hear that."

"She's silent, but not bored. She's beautiful, but not too self aware. She's smart, but not a geek. She's very sweet. You'll like her." Stella said, she was very font of the girl she had just met a few hours ago.

John nodded as he crawled under the sheets. He pulled his wife close to him and nuzzled in her hair. "I hope Anna made the right choice," he mumbled. "After all, it's her first love, it could mean nothing..."

Stella shook her head. "No," she said. "It's more than that. They are perfect for each other, they fit so well together. You'll see." She reached for her bedlamp. The room became consumed with darkness. A few minutes later, nothing but John's soft snoring could be heard. Stella laid awake for another few hours, thinking how lucky her daughter was with a girl like Elsa. Then she closed her eyes.

* * *

Elsa was laying on a borrowed mattress and Anna in her own bed. Elsa had been so tired that the minute she had laid her head on the pillow, she had gone off to dreamland. Anna, however, laid awake for hours and couldn't seem to get some sleep. She rolled on her side to stare at her girlfriend. Elsa laid on her back, one arm draped over her head, the other half on the ground. Her long legs were somehow entangled with the sheets. Her chest rose up and down as she breathed peacefully. The moonlight caught her face and she looked like a freaking angel with that blonde, loose hair surrounding her head. Anna smiled, she felt so darn lucky to have Elsa in her life. After having stared at the sleeping beauty, Anna decided to read her new book until she would fall asleep.

She was halfway when she suddenly heard a whimper and a moan. She turned to see if Elsa was ok. She was not. Her eyebrows were furrowing and her lips twitching. A tear escaped the corner of her eye as she shook her head. Anna immediately rushed to her side and shook her gently. "Elsa, wake up." She whispered. The blonde did not respond. She started sobbing and it broke Anna's heart. She shook Elsa harder. "Els, please, whatever you're dreaming, it's not real !" She said louder. Elsa whimpered. Anna decided to try it one last time. "Elsa !" She screamed. The blonde's eyes shot open as her heart raced in her throat. She looked around her disorientated as she let out a small hiccup. She rubbed her eyes as she frowned. She realised she had woken up Anna.

"S-s sorry... N-ni-night- nightmare.." she stuttered. Anna didn't need to ask what it was about, her parents, mostly her father probably. Without hesitation, Anna wrapped her in a hug and wiped away her tears. She pulled Elsa up and lead her to her own bed.

"Come on," she said. "Tonight you'll be sleeping with me."

They got into bed, laying on their sides, face to face. Anna immediately wrapped her arm around Elsa's side and started rubbing her back in small circles. Elsa pushed her forehead against Anna's and closed her eyes. She liked how Anna touched her, it felt nice, soothing, comforting. Her breathing became slower as she drifted off to sleep again. A deep sleep without interruptions. A safe sleep. Anna smiled. She pulled Elsa closer and tucked her blonde head under her chin. She kissed the top of Elsa's head and watched her girlfriend breathing.

"You are such a sweetheart. I seriously can't imagine anyone better than you are," she whispered, still wondering how it could have been that Elsa saw something in her, feisty pants, the clumsy girl who talked too much ! She smiled, maybe that's why Elsa liked her, because she was just being herself...

She played with Elsa's long eyelashes for a while and marvelled over the fact that every inch of the blonde girl was pure perfection, every hair was in the right place, never misplaced. Every faint freckle on her nose and cheeks was there for a reason. Her nose was just the right size, not too big, not too tiny. Her mouth was wide but not too wide. Her jaw was sharp and her neck so soft and elegant, like a swan, Anna realised. Elsa was like a swan, long, slender and elegant. Gracious, like a queen. _Her_ queen. Even though Elsa didn't like the nickname Snow Queen, Anna found it rather suiting the girl. Her pale skin reminded her of the snow, her posture reminded her of a queen. Although the Snow Queen nickname did sound beautiful, it did not top the nickname she had come up with, the nickname Elsa had actually liked, loved.

Snowflake.

Anna sighed happy as she laid in her bed with the woman of her dreams in her arms. She was finding herself in a moment of utter and utter bliss. She would do everything to keep Elsa happy, even if that meant sacrificing her own dreams and wishes. She would do it, no doubt, because this girl, this awesome, really beautiful girl deserved nothing but the best. And Anna would provide her with that, she would treat her like the queen she was.

* * *

"But I don't wanna go to some boring old museum !" Anna whined while trying to pull Elsa back.

Elsa chuckled and proceeded to walk to the entrance. "Oh come on, you'll see you'll like it !"

Anna highly doubted it. Right, _she_ liking stupid paintings of old dramatic scenes. Her _ass_. She'd rather go to see Fifty shades of Grey. She almost immediately bust out into laughter at the thought of watching it with Elsa, who would probably be super uncomfortable. It would be hilarious of course, Elsa with a head as red as a tomato, watching those heated scenes of passionate kissing and intercourse. Anna grinned evil, she was definitely gonna drag Elsa into the cinema, she considered this as a pay back cause her Snowflake dragged her into a museum, against her will.

Elsa walked up to the counter and ordered two tickets. She pushed Anna inside and giggled. "Come on, feisty pants, do this for me."

Anna let out a puff, she could never refuse whenever Elsa used that line. "That's cheating," she pouted. "You know when you say that, that I can't say no."

Elsa smirked. That was all Anna needed. She grabbed the blonde from behind and started tickling her sides. Elsa doubled over in laughter and became red from embarrassment, or lack of oxygen, either way, she became bright red. "A-a- anna !" She managed to say while trying to pry Anna's hands away from her ribs. "S-stop, this is a museum not a play fort !"

"Well it sure looks like one to me !" she laughed and didn't stop. She liked having her girlfriend at her mercy. Elsa wriggled in her grasp, Anna wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

"Anna ?" a male voice asked out of nowhere. Anna stopped instantly, almost dropping Elsa on the floor. Shit, she thought, what the hell was _he_ doing here ?

Anna turned around. "Kristoff ?" she asked. Then she saw the brunette next to him, her arm around his. " _Giselle,_ " she stated, a hint of mock in her voice.

Elsa gave her a small push. Anna frowned at her, she immediately received the act-like-normal-and-don't-be-a-bitch look. She pouted while crossing her arms before her chest. "Kristoff, Giselle, what a pleasure to meet you guys here." Elsa said warm, Anna felt that they didn't deserve it.

Kristoff rubbed his neck. "Hi, uhm, we were thinking.. um-..."

"Would you like to join us today ?" Giselle asked cheerily, trying to ignore the hate stares she got from Anna.

Elsa smiled. "Of course, that sounds like fun. Right Anna ?" The red head mumbled something and wrapped her arms around the taller girl protectively. Kristoff and Giselle tried to ignore her hateful stare and started admiring the paintings. Elsa wriggled herself from Anna's grip and started to tell the couple all about the art, even though it should be vice versa since _they_ were the art students. Anna stayed behind and fumed. She glanced over at Elsa and got a small apologetic glance back. She immediately understood why they had gone to the museum in the first place ! Shit shit shit, she cursed, Elsa had this _planned_ , hadn't she ? She would punish her for it later. She grinned when she started thinking of a suitable punishment for her ticklish Snowflake.

"Hey Anna," said Giselle suddenly next to her. "Are you liking it so far ?"

Anna grumbled.

"Come on, I want to show you this one." She showed her a famous painting. "This one was painted by the famous Baroque painter Caravaggio. The way he used lighting and composition was very new for the time period he lived in. Many people didn't believe in what he was doing, they said he was crazy. And now he's one of the best Baroque artists that ever existed."

"What are you trying to tell me ?" Anna frowned, getting immediately to the point because she understood that clearly there was a message behind this short monologue.

"That you have to give people a chance without judging," Giselle almost instantly replied. "They might turn into the best painters of the world," she smiled shyly. "I know we started off the wrong foot, but that doesn't mean we have to be hostile to each other all the time."

"I'm not acting _hostile_ !" Anna spat, and immediately received a look from Elsa. Dang it. She rephrased. "I'm sorry. I guess you're right. I'm sorry I acted childish. I'm just hurt... that's all."

Giselle smiled and placed her hand on Anna's shoulder. "It's nice to finally meet you, Anna," she said friendly.

Kristoff was staring at a painting when Elsa came standing next to him. She studied the big man. He had his muscular arms crossed and his blonde locks were playful and messy. He looked friendly even though he was huge. He was probably a football player, given his physique.

"Do you like this one ?" she asked when she noticed that he was captured by the painting.

Kristoff nodded.

"May I ask why ?"

The man frowned confused. "Eh. Because I like the composition and the clever use of colour."

Elsa smiled. "Yeah, Van Gogh is famous for his colour palettes," she stated. "Do you like the works of Van Gogh ?"

Kristoff nodded. "Yeah, I do actually." Knowing she would ask why, he started answering it.

"I like it because he's so free in his brush strokes. He suggests movement in his paintings even though it's really not there. He uses a lot of colours, a lot of orange, I noticed, furthermore he mixes all kinds of different textures and stuff. I like how he paints, he paints what he sees, not what he knows. He paints how he sees the world, I am inspired by him. He paints gorgeous landscapes. He was really gifted to see the world like that."

"And how do _you_ see it ?" she asked.

" _Dark,_ " he mumbled as he thought of Anna, his best friend, whom he just deserted. He had felt a huge guilt ever since. He really knew that he hurt her, he just tried to push that thought away and hoped that one day he could become her friend again.

"The world doesn't play nice, the world doesn't know undo and redo. The world is dark, cold and harsh. If you screw up, you won't ever get a second chance." He gazed at the painting. The colourful orange flowers contrasted against the dark background.

"You know, that's a whole lot different than Van Gogh sees it," whispered Elsa. "And still you're inspired by him."

"Because he presents a different world, but it's not the world I live in."

"You could always change your pallet colours. You don't have to use black all the time. Try orange, for instance," she suggested.

Kristoff glanced at her and then he smiled. "You know, you're a smart person. I still can't seem to figure out how, clumsy and awkward, Anna managed to capture your heart."

Elsa simply smiled. "Because her pallet does not have black on it," She walked back to Anna and hugged her tightly.

"I'm really proud of you."

Anna smiled and sighed deeply in Elsa's neck.

"I know you set up this meeting for me," she whispered.

"And, was it a mistake ?"

"No, it was perfect," Anna replied. " _You_ are perfect." She was not going to punish Elsa, she decided, she was gonna _reward_ her.

Elsa chuckled. "Now come on, let's not keep them waiting."

* * *

Jay was running. She had no idea to where. She just knew she had to get away from her father as quickly as possible. She cried while she ran. So this was how it felt to be hit by your own father, she thought. It was a horrible feeling. She cried even harder when she realised that Elsa was putting up with this for far much longer, probably most of her life now. Jay ran and suddenly realised that she was near Elsa's dorm. Since she had no where to go, she decided to seek help from her own sister. If Elsa really loved her, she would help her. She collected all of her courage and knocked on her sister's door confidently. A pale looking blonde with dark bags under her eyes opened the door.

"Jay ?" Elsa raised her eyebrow. "What are you doing here ?"

The younger girl bit her lip. A trade she shared with her sister. "F-f-father... h-he slapped me !" she cried out.

"What ?! " Elsa brought her hand to her mouth, she was shocked, father would never hit Jay. Right ? She stared at her sister. The bruise was already starting to form on her cheek. A memory of her own cheek getting slapped flashed before her eyes. Their father hit really, really hard. He was stronger than he probably knew himself. Jay just stood there in her door opening, crying. Elsa pulled her inside and closed her door. "Come on. You really need a good cry," she said as she wrapped her arms around her younger sister protectively.

Jay let the tears come. She cried until she didn't have any tears left. Elsa just sat there and listened to her cries. She kissed her sister and listened to what she had to say. Jay had a lot to say, their parents were never there for the girls and never listened to them. They didn't have time for that nonsense, they always said. Jay hiccuped. "Y-y-you a-are s-swe-sweet."

Elsa smiled. It warmed her heart. Her sister finally said something nice to her. "I love you." She whispered in Jay's ear. "Wanna stay the night ?"

Jay's eyes grew big. "Y-you mean.. with you ? Here ? A-are you sure ?"

"Of course I am. I can imagine that you wouldn't want to go home to mother and father now. The atmosphere might be a little tense," Elsa bit her lip before she finally said it. "I would like if you'd stay."

Jay started grinning. She hugged her sister deeply. "Alright then. I'll stay."

Elsa's body was warm and comfortable. It was until now that Jay never realised how much she liked being hugged. The gesture filled her with joy. "Hey Elsa." She received a small 'hmmm' from above her.

"Your hugs are the best."


	8. Chapter VIII

Chapter 8. 'My lovely, sweet Snowflake.'

* * *

It was Sunday evening and Elsa and Anna were sitting across from each other. It was quiet. The atmosphere was as cold as a winter's morning. Elsa glared at Anna. She really shouldn't have done that. In return, Anna squeezed her eyes.

"This is not _fair_ !" Elsa argued. God, she was gorgeous when she was upset. But it had nothing to do with fairness.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Anna shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yes you did ! And a lot !" Elsa frowned. Anna only smirked.

"Imma hit you. And there is nothing you can do to stop me," Anna raised her hand.

"Don't you dare !" Elsa warned and pouted. Anna didn't feel any mercy. She had to do what was right.

"You're going down, Snowflake," Anna grinned devilish. Elsa stuck out her tongue, which was _very_ childish.

"Anna, I'm warning you, don't you _dare_ hit me !" The blonde tried one last time.

But Anna only laughed as she picked up her black Horse pawn and hit Elsa's white Queen. "Oh, I so _dare_ ! Check… _mate_ !" She yelled and raised her arms in victory.

Elsa grunted and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But know that I only did it to make you feel better after you lost from me during Five Crowns."

Anna laughed. "Yeah, keep telling yourself. Cause according to me, you lost. And pretty hard too !" She crawled over to the blonde and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I still love you, even though you're a bad loser." She smirked.

Elsa poked in her side. "I am not !" She protested.

The red head chuckled, she received another poke. Then, she stood up and pulled Elsa up. She dragged her to the kitchen and started gathering some stuff.

"Come on !" she said cheerily, while she handed Elsa the cacao powder. "We're gonna make a Dutch treat, Arretjescake** !"

Elsa frowned as she didn't know what that was and she became frustrated when she couldn't even pronounce the name correctly. Anna giggled while she started breaking the biscuits.

"You'll love it, I'm sure."

* * *

"What are you thinking of, feisty pants ?" Elsa asked as she saw Anna pulling a hard face.

The girl did not respond. Elsa kissed her on the lips to wake her from her daydream. First, Anna gasped, then she kissed her girlfriend back with such a force that Elsa was slightly pushed backwards. After their heated kiss, both girls had to catch their breath for a short while. "Whoa, Snowflake, you really know how to kiss for someone who's never kissed before !"

Elsa blushed.

"And I was thinking about your dress," Anna answered the question a little late.

Elsa cocked her eyebrow. "Do share with me."

"Alright. Here we go. I think it's gonna be some sort of wide hips thing, you know, those things they wore in the Baroque era ?"

Elsa nodded and chuckled. Anna continued.

"Right, that, and, a wig, a really, nasty, huge ass wig. And then to go with the wig, a bodice, a really tight corset underneath, to push up those lovely breasts of yours." Elsa playfully slapped Anna. The redhead laughed. "Seriously, they need to be seen. They are _glorious_. Oh and to finish your look, you'd wear a train with the length of about half a mile, so everyone will you that you are the fairest and finest of them all !" Anna clapped her hands. "Tadaaaa, what do you think ?"

"You're crazy, you know that," Elsa smiled. "If it were indeed the Baroque ages, then I would have considered it, yes. But since it's the modern times, I thank you very much."

Anna looked disappointed.

"You're gonna love it, I'm sure," Elsa said while hugging her girlfriend. "And what about your dress then ? What are you planning to wear ?"

The red head grinned. "I'm not gonna tell you ! You'll have to see that for yourself."

"That's alright, I can wait," said Elsa, pissing off Anna.

"You're not fun !"

"That's right, I'm Elsa," she laughed while receiving tickles from her girlfriend.

* * *

Our favourite couple was walking through the halls of their university. It was a quiet afternoon and a fresh spring breeze filled the air. Elsa was wearing a colourful blouse and tight jeans that hugged those damn fine hips perfectly. Anna just couldn't keep her hands off of Elsa's booty, it was just so nice and round and firm at the same time. Elsa giggled while pushing her girlfriend's hand away. "Stop doing that, Anna ! People are _looking_." She wriggled out of Anna's hands.

Anna laughed and hugged the blonde. "Then let them look. You have a fabulous booty, you don't have to be ashamed of it !" She received a poke in her ribs.

They had grown really close over the summer and Elsa was finally getting used to being a couple. Their summer had been perfect. They slept until late in the morning and spent time in the National Gardens at the lake. Elsa had looked stunning in her blue bikini, with her hair loose, allowing the wind to play with it. She had looked like a fucking goddess as she slowly walked into the water.

Anna's relationship with Kristoff had blossomed again, as she had predicted in the first place, and she was Elsa eternally grateful for that one meeting at the museum. They started to hang out with the four of them more often and even had gone on a couple of succesful double dates as well. It seemed that Kristoff was also really interested in Elsa as they spoke often with each other and got along nicely. Anna and Giselle had become good friends and Anna had found out that Giselle was an amazing painter, her specialty were African animals, to the red head's delight. Slowly wounds started to heal, Anna and Kris felt at ease with each other again and Elsa became more open and happy without feeling the pressure to have prestigious grades and such. Anna smiled as she thought back at their summer vacation. She definitely wanted to spend more time with Elsa during vacations, that girl had been so relaxed. Nothing like the shy, introvert, stiff student she was at school. She had been open, had laughed a lot and had had so much fun. Anna definitely wanted to see that side of Elsa more. Maybe they could even backpack around the country some time!

The girls were turning around the corner when they bumped into someone. "Ooff !" It said, or rather, _he_ said. Anna realised who it was, as she recognised his auburn hair and his signature sideburns. Hans, she thought in despise. She hated him, and not without reason. He used to pick on Elsa. He used to pester her with his mean, stabbing comments. He used to pull pranks on her, and they weren't the nice and funny ones. He used to make Elsa's life on campus miserable beyond words. How she managed to get through the first year was a miracle to Anna. But when Anna started hanging out with the gorgeous blonde more, Hans' pranks stopped and finally he left Elsa alone. Her plan had worked.

Anna yanked Elsa by her arm to her side. She whispered in her ear. "Hey Els, why don't you already go inside, I'll come right after you ok ?" She pushed the blonde to the dooropening of the library. Elsa looked behind her but Anna motioned for her to go inside.

When Elsa was out of view, Anna grabbed Hans by his collar and yanked him down until they were on the same eye leve. "Listen, I know you don't pick on Elsa anymore, and I'm glad you made that decision. But I have noticed that you try to be in her way, even though not directly. If I were you, I'd walk away while you can. Because if you even lay a single finger on _my_ girlfriend, you'll have to look over her shoulder for the rest of your life, am I clear ?"

Hans' eyes looked as big as tennis balls. "She's your _girlfriend_ ?!" He exclaimed. "Whoa, I never thought that the Ice Bitch's heart would melt ! Never in a million years !" He rubbed his head.

" _Excuse me_ ?!" Anna glared at him. "That's my lovely, sweet Snowflake you're talking about !" she spat.

He raised his hands in defence. "S-sorry, it's just... I don't know, that Ice Bi-..." Anna was ready to punch him, he rephrased. "I didn't know that she would be able to look someone in the eyes, let alone love someone ! I mean, have you seen her ? She's the embodiment of winter itself, no, she's even colder than that."

The redhead fumed. "You have no right to talk about her like that, you don't know her like I do. Dare you insult her again or touch her, and it'll be a very, _very_ short life !" she threatened.

Elsa was in the library when she heard Anna yelling. She heard only bits and parts but already pieced the puzzle together, they were talking about her. She groaned. It was sweet and all of Anna standing up for her but she felt like she didn't need that extra drama. Hans was already leaving her alone and she was happy with that, why reopen old wounds ? She doubted if she should end it or not when she heard a screech and then a loud painful moan. Anna ! She ran outside to find Anna laying on the ground, gripping her back and grunting in pain.

"What just happened ?" Elsa asked while glaring at Hans.

He was raising his hands in the air defensively. "I didn't do anything, that pig started insulting me !"

Elsa's jaw fell. "That _pig_ ?! That's _feisty pants_ you're talking about !"

She jumped at Hans, he didn't see it coming. Elsa punched him in the face. He yelped while covering his eye. Elsa shrieked. "I _hate_ you and all of your stupid friends, now get the hell out of here !" She breathed heavily while supporting her weight on her knees. Hans drooped off but managed to threaten over his shoulder.

"You'll be hearing from the head master, Ice Bitch ! We're not done here !"

The _coward_ , she scoffed. He wouldn't stand a chance, his insults didn't hurt her anymore, she wasn't afraid anymore, Anna had taught her so.

"Elsa ?" She heard faintly behind her. _Shit_. Anna was back on her feet and slowly approached the raging blonde. She looked afraid.

"Geez, that was scary. You hit him ! In da _face_ !" Anna's eyes were huge.

Elsa bit her lip, she shouldn't have done that. But he hurt her girlfriend, she couldn't just let him walk away. "He hurt you. I don't like it when the people I love get hurt." she answered curt.

Anna smiled and hugged her. "You were so brave."

Elsa kissed Anna on her soft, sweet lips. Anna wrapped her arm around Elsa's waist as they proceeded to walk into the library. She was so proud of her Snowflake. This girl had _fought_ for her ! A year ago she didn't even dare to look her in the eyes and now she had punched someone, for her ! And not even a random someone, no her own bully ! Anna felt immensely proud of Elsa. She would get there, she knew it. She still had a long way to go, for example dealing with her father's abuse, but she would get there with the help of Anna, in time. It seemed that life for Elsa was starting to work out for the better, finally. Jay liked her company and came over a lot of times. They would play games, watch movies and gossip about their parents and Jay's ridiculous, now ex, friends. And even though Jay loved music and stuff, she was really inspired by her sister and had applied for science at the same university. Elsa could not be prouder or honoured.

Anna smirked when they walked past the Manners and Proper Behaviour section, this is where she had first made Elsa really laugh ! It all seemed so long ago ! Now they were Juniors, undergrads, on their way to become grown ups who had to pay the bills and all that boring stuff. But they would do it together, because Anna has not had enough of the beautiful girl walking next to her. She pulled Elsa closer as she sighed satisfied. Life played tricks on her, but she had really appreciated the trick of Elsa coming into her world. She deserved all, she deserved everything. And Anna would always make sure Elsa was happy because when that girl was happy, Anna was happy too, and that was all she needed.

Elsa looked at Anna and smiled. "You're happy."

It was more of stating a fact rather than asking a question. Anna nodded. She was. She _really_ was happy. She thought she felt happy when she was younger, but that was _nothing_ compared to what she was feeling now. This utter blissful feeling, this warm feeling that no one could hurt her, this feeling that everything had fallen into place, _this_ was happiness in the purest form. And she was more than glad to share this wonderful feeling with the love of her life by her side. Elsa kissed Anna's temple, she knew exactly how Anna was feeling.

"I am too," she said sincere. "I am too."

"Thanks for standing up for me, by the way," Anna whispered.

Elsa's face lit up. "I fight for what I love."

 _Who was that mysterious creature behind her mask of perfection ? Who was she really ?_ Something that Anna had been questioning herself for months when she first laid eyes on this amazing girl. She smiled when she thought of her answer. This mysterious creature was a beautiful Snowflake who shone brighter than the sun. This mysterious creature was someone who had so much love to give but hadn't gotten the opportunity yet.

This mysterious creature was _her_ Elsa, and she would support her.

Always.

* * *

 ****Arretjescake** is a Dutch chocolate cake with crumbled cookies inside of it. You use cacao and a lot of sugar, put it in the fridge over night and slice it in small rectangles. The end result is tasty af !

 **And that was it, the final chapter ! I thank you all for reading ;) It was so much fun writing it. I feel like this is the first story I actually finished, haha, lol. I don't finish anything I start... except for this one. Yay. Thanks y'all.**

 **Also, I have an epilogue. So there will be one last update before I say goodbye ;)**


	9. Chapter IX

Epilogue. 'The Winter Ball'

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit," Anna cursed. "Where the heck is she ?"

She paced around the room. It was a huge room. Loads of people were on the floor, chatting and laughing. There was a live band playing softly in the background. Handsome guys in tuxedos were passing by constantly, Anna did not pay attention to them. She searched frantically for her girlfriend, who said she would be here any minute now.

It was finally that day, that day Anna had been waiting for patiently for about seven months now. That day where she would get to see her lovely Snowflake in a beautiful gown for the first time in forever, and she literally could not wait for it. The president of the student council walked on stage and announced the head master to open the ball officially. Loud cheers came from the public and everybody toasted.

The ball was now officially opened, and Elsa had officially missed it.

Anna bit her lip. She glanced at herself in a mirror. She looked decent. She had finally gotten rid of her usual pig tails and had put her hair in a fancy up do with a green ribbon going through her hair. She was wearing little make up, because she really despised it but she did it to impress Elsa. Her shoulders were bare, as for a big part of her chest. She wore a tight black bodice with some nice embroidery on her breasts. Her skirt was green and ended on the ground. Black stiletto heels made her stand up taller, maybe now she was on the same eye level as Elsa was, or maybe Elsa was wearing heels too.

Anyways, Anna thought that she looked decent. She was still fuming over the fact that Elsa was getting really late now that she didn't hear the loud gasps that the audience made until it was entirely silent.

Anna looked up, what was going on ?

* * *

Elsa stood in a private bathroom, fiddling with her hair nervously. She was opting to just let her hair loose this time but then again, her French braid was her trade mark and she just loved it so much. She decided to keep the braid. She fiddled with the fabric on her arms and buttoned herself up. Her make up had already been applied. Dark purple eyeshadow and bordeaux red lipstick. A hint of red on her cheeks and she was good to go. She sighed deeply as she looked at herself in the mirror. Did she look ok ?

Anna would probably find her weird.

She bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut. 'As long as you stay who you are, I'll love you, no matter what.' Anna's voice rung through her head. She opened her eyes with determination. She straightened her shoulders and held her head up high. Tonight would be _her_ night, she decided as she walked graciously through the door. Bring it on.

* * *

Anna lost her breath the minute Elsa stepped into the room, as for everybody else who watched as the Snow Queen made her way through the crowd. Anna felt herself gasping. Elsa had been planning on wearing this all the time ? The red head's jaw fell to the floor, or so it felt like. Elsa. Looked. Simply. Stunning. In. A. Tuxedo. Holy cow.

She walked in with her head up high and her shoulders as straight as they allowed it. She walked like she was the queen herself, and to Anna, she really was. A slim navy blue jacket hung over her upper body and only one button was tied. Underneath the jacket was a black gilet with greyish stripes going down, parallel to each other. And under her gilet was a white blouse with a few unbuttoned buttons that left Anna a clear view of her slim neck and collarbones. Elsa's trousers were slightly loose and looked damn sexy on her, black stilettos finished this amazing look.

Anna watched how Elsa graciously walked towards her. The crowd had its eyes focused on the two girls, Anna could feel their stares burning into her. She paid them no attention, Elsa was all she saw. And this sight was too breathtaking as her eyes almost fell out of her head from staring intensely. Elsa stopped right in front of her. She smiled shyly.

"So, I take it that you like my choice of wardrobe ?"

"I, um, I mean, you are, uh, you look, uh... this is... I mean, that is..." Anna sighed deeply before she spoke what she felt. "You look _so_ beautiful." She kept eyeing how marvellously well the suit looked on Elsa.

Elsa giggled. "Thank you. And you, _you_ look gorgeous, I did not imagine that a dress would suit you _this_ well. My compliments."

Anna bit her lip. The crowd was still watching them and she felt herself blushing deeply. Elsa smiled. Damn she looked so beautiful.

"Alright, the show is over !" the red head shouted loudly. She dragged Elsa with her to a corner. "I thank you all but this girl is _mine_ !"

Elsa chuckled. And it was like nothing had happened because in no time, people were chatting and laughing with each other again.

"Do you really like my suit ?" Elsa asked again. "I had it tailor made," she added.

"No way !" Anna gasped again. Oh, how she would have loved to have been that tailor, getting to measure _all_ Elsa's measurements must have been amazing. Wait a minute, she thought, I could go to the tailor to ask them... She blinked her eyes a couple of times, right, back to the evening, back to this fancy young lady before her.

"I absolutely adore your suit. You look amazing in it. And it's really original of you !"

The taller girl blushed.

"Hey Els ?" Anna said softly as she took one of Elsa's hands. "I got you something," she said and laid a small dark blue box in Elsa's hands.

Elsa gasped.

"Just open it, and don't be afraid, it's not a ring... _yet,_ " Anna smirked mischievously.

Elsa slowly opened the tiny box. She lifted the content up and let out a small gasp. It was a snowflake. A silver one with six ends. It was beautiful. A small silver chain held the snowflake up.

"It is handmade and one of a kind," Anna added. "I took one of your designs, remember, that one you gave to me as a present ?"

Elsa nodded enthusiastically, tears welled up in her eyes. Anna continued.

"Well, I took that one to a friend and asked him if he could make it. And he did. Do you like it ?"

The blonde girl nodded and pulled Anna into a hug. "I love you so freaking much." She sobbed into her neck. Anna smiled widely.

"I know." She pulled apart and put the necklace around Elsa's neck. It looked damn fine on her white blouse. Elsa beamed, she composed herself, took a deep bow and held out a hand.

"May I have this dance of you, noble, fair maiden ?" She asked and started blushing deeply.

Anna accepted with a squeal and they walked to the dance floor. Surprisingly, they were both pretty good at it. Left foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, right foot, turn, turn, right foot, left foot. Elsa frowned. "I thought you couldn't dance ?"

"I took lessons. I thought you couldn't dance either ?"

"Jay taught me."

The red head's jaw slacked. "Oh my god. Good for you, Els !" she smiled. "I'm so happy for you that you and Jay are getting along."

They danced for another couple of minutes before Elsa went off to fetch some drinks. Anna stood by an open window to cool herself down a bit. She noticed a certain blonde man shuffling her way with a girl behind him. Anna smiled.

"Hey Kristoff." She hugged him. "Looking handsome." She noticed that he looked really, really good in the black suit with the bordeaux red bow tie.

He smirked. "You're looking damn fine yourself as well."

Anna nodded. "But not as great as Elsa though. You should see her when she comes back !" She beamed.

"Anna, you look beautiful," Giselle smiled.

The red head returned the compliment and the three of them chatted for a while. It turned out that Kristoff indeed didn't pass this year and had to do the year again. He seemed to have peace with it, as for Giselle who didn't mind either. Anna started bragging about how gorgeous Elsa looked and how amazing the snowflake Kristoff had made looked on her blouse.

"Ah, there she is. Elsa ! Meet the man who made your snowflake necklace," Anna said as she pointed to Kristoff.

Elsa's eyes grew wide. "You made it ? For me ?" She wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you so much, how sweet of you !"

Kristoff grinned. "I couldn't refuse. Besides, it looks amazing, if I do say so."

Everybody laughed.

The two couples spent the rest of the night chatting with each other. They had a fun evening and everything went perfectly, just as Anna had imagined. It was like a fairy tale.

After a while, they decided to leave as it got a bit too busy and Elsa really wanted to spend some time alone with her beautiful girlfriend. They took a quick troll through the park before they headed home. They held hands and walked slow. Anna looked at her girlfriend. Their eyes met. Elsa looked just like she had looked on the first day they met. But Anna knew better. Elsa had changed, from the inside. And so had Anna. They both had changed, for the better.

The red head thought back at the time when she had felt so lonely and small in the big open world. Well, that feeling was definitely gone now. She and Elsa would stand together in the world, and they would face all their fears together, as a team. Anna smiled and sighed deeply. She was happy with how her life turned out to be. She really was.

Elsa also sighed in content.

A confident smile laid on her lips. Her head was slightly tilted and her braid hung over her shoulder. But her icy blue eyes were shining brighter than ever !


End file.
